The House Appropriations Committee released its funding bill about three months after the Biden administration asked Congress to set aside $62 billion for DHS for the upcoming fiscal year.
DHS had sought funding to hire 1,300 additional Border Patrol agents, along with 1,000 more U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Additionally, the administration asked for funds to bring on 1,600 asylum officers and 375 immigration judges to tackle the more than 3 million and growing immigration court cases backlog.
The funding request marked a 2% increase over the administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request, including $22.7 billion for disaster relief and $4.7 billion for a border contingency fund for use when migration levels spike.
The House bill would do away with the contingency fund, which the summary said would be used to process more noncitizens into the country.
Among other provisions, the bill would also bar funding to provide or facilitate abortion and gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and surgery for migrants in ICE custody.
