Joyce Votes To Bolster Border Funding; Democrats Instead Ram Through Amnesty Measure To Make Crisis Worse
Congressman John Joyce (PA-13) today voted to advance the "Border Crisis Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019," legislation that would increase funding for the purposes of addressing the security and humanitarian crisis on the southern border. Democrats blocked the proposal and later in the day passed a measure to grant amnesty to more than two million people instead.
"The latest decision by my Democratic colleagues to again turn a blind eye to the crisis on our southern border is troubling, but not surprising," said Congressman Joyce. "We had a real opportunity today to give our Border Patrol agents the resources that they need to fight back against the efforts of the cartels to bring harmful drugs into this country, and instead we wasted it on a measure that will cost $26.3 billion and will only encourage more people to come to this country illegally. Further, the legislation the Democrats passed today does nothing to address the loopholes in our immigration laws that are perpetuating the crisis at our southern border. By continuing to stifle all efforts to assist our law enforcement and mend the systemic flaws in our asylum process, Democrats are making it clear that political posturing is more important to them than the safety of the American people and the rule of law."
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The Border Crisis Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019 (H.R. 3056), legislation that Joyce cosponsors and voted to advance today, would provide a total of $4.5 billion in funding to address the immediate border crisis, including:
- $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance such as shelter capacity for unaccompanied children, care for children in custody, transportation for safe and efficient border processing centers
- $1.1 billion for operational support such as personnel, transportation, and resources to combat human smuggling and trafficking
- $178 million for technology upgrades and law enforcement pay adjustments to respond to influx.
This is the same amount of emergency funding the Trump administration requested from Congress at the beginning of May.
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, the amnesty legislation Democrats passed today instead of Joyce's legislation, is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost $26.3 billion from 2020-2029.
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In order to offer a more permanent solution to the crisis on the southern border, Joyce in April cosponsored The Fix the Immigration Loopholes Act, (H.R. 586), which does the following:
- Fixes the Flores settlement to allow children and parents to be sheltered together in custody
- Keeps children safe by prohibiting DHS from releasing a child into the custody of any person besides a parent or legal guardian
- Ensures unaccompanied alien children can be quickly and safely returned home
- Strengthens the asylum system by tightening the ?credible fear' standard
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Given the gridlock facing Congress over the crisis at the southern border, Joyce in May led a group of five Pennsylvania lawmakers in a letter to Governor Tom Wolf to request that Pennsylvania's chief executive offer President Trump the support of the commonwealth's National Guard for the purposes of addressing the crisis on the southern border. Governor Wolf dismissed the request and his office called the crisis at the southern border "hyperbole."
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