Thread by @chiproytx

Today, @HouseDemocrats introduced their border supplemental bill in response to the request from @realDonaldTrump & the pressure applied by the @freedomcaucus. We are still reviewing the text of the Senate & House versions. Initial observations: (1/x) #EndBorderCrisisNow

While we all desperately want $ for humanitarian relief, Senate GOP appears to be moving a supplemental that will very likely worsen the crisis, & the House Dems’ version is worse. Both will further incentivize traffickers, cartels, & perpetuate catch & release... (2/x)

The senate and house bills provide little to no funding for additional beds for adults or families. Beds are critical for proper screening, proper care, & proper enforcement to drive down the incentives for future flow. (3/x)

Senate version cuts WH funding request for ICE more than 50% - from $534.5 million to $204 million.

The House Dem version provides no tangible resources for ICE –reducing even the Senate amount to $128.2 million total, none for personnel or beds. (4/x)

Almost every dollar will be outsourced to other agencies, components or contractors for medical expenses or transportation with the exception of $20 million for ankle bracelets, which are a proven failure and perpetuate catch and release. (5/x)

The bills would perpetuate “catch & release.” Though the senate & house bills offer needed resources for ORR in HHS for the care of unaccompanied minors, w/o deterrent resources the ORR is a magnet, & worse, neither bill provides resources for detaining families & adults. (6/x)

Senate provides $708 million for migrant facilities, but includes restrictive language that effectively means no additional housing will be available for likely 9 months. There are no existing facilities that aren’t over capacity, & construction will take a long time. (7/x)

House version includes $787.5 MM for essentially tents and trailers to provide temporary shelter while migrants are processed. B/c neither includes increased detention capacity for ICE, CBP will have nowhere to take migrants once they are released from temporary custody. (8/x)

This means 100% of migrants crossing the border will be released into the country (as they effectively are being done now). Not only will this encourage the continued exploitation of women and children by traffickers, but will overwhelm localities in Texas and generally. (9/x)

Places like San Antonio (#tx21) have had a recent influx of at least 350 Congolese and Angolan aliens who are seeking asylum. DHS is out of room and can’t detain them, so they’ve been dropped off at local shelters and churches. (10/x)

Instead of providing money for enforcement measures, both bills include money to reimburse state & localities dealing with migrants without homes. While that is welcomed in theory, it will continue to provide incentives for illegal immigration & go to sanctuary cities. (11/x)

In addition to that reimbursement of $30 million in the senate version and $60 million in the house version, the bill include legal aid for migrants in custody rather than providing resources for DHS personnel along the border. (12/x)

In short, these bill appear at first review to help complete the human smuggling cycle rather than do anything to reduce the incentives and thwart it. As a result, we will have a continued crisis with some bandaids of (welcomed) humanitarian relief included. (13/x).

That cycle? Cartels drop off migrants at our border, CBP transports them to NGOs where they are aided in contacting family members who are already in the U.S., the family members pay the smuggling fees, then NGOs are reimbursed by the government for aiding aliens. (14/x)

This is not the system we should have. This will not secure our nation. This will not truly help migrants seeking to come here beyond basic (again, welcome) supplies and resources to provide humanitarian relief. We should do better. (15/x)

To be clear - the border has never in our history been less secure and more exploited than it is today (literally today). Certain cartels have operational control, our response is weak, and as a result it will continue to be exploited. #EndBorderCrisisNow (16/16) /End.