Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Tuesday that supplemental legislation approved by the House of Representatives on Friday would help address the humanitarian and national security crisis unfolding at the southern border.
The Southwest Border Supplemental Appropriations Act would provide supplemental funding to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), deploy the National Guard to the border, and fund expedited processing of immigration cases.
“The tragic conditions at our southern border have become full-blown humanitarian and national security crises,” Kinzinger said. “Today, we took the first step to securing our borders and providing resources to humanely address the thousands of unaccompanied minors there. We need to tackle this issue quickly and thoroughly to ensure our national security and prevent any more children from embarking on the dangerous journey from Central America.”
Kinzinger is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and currently serves as a major in the Air National Guard. He previously called for the National Guard to be deployed to the southern border to assist CBP.
The legislation would also amend immigration laws that apply to how unaccompanied alien children from countries other than Mexico and Canada are processed. It would give children the option to voluntarily return to their home country without appearing before an immigration judge. The provision would likely reduce the number of illegal immigrant children in the United States who receive federal benefits, which would reduce spending by an undetermined amount, according to the Congressional Budget Office.