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Border & Immigration

Groups Ask Congress To Cut Border Enforcement Funds

A Border Patrol agent faces the fence separating San Diego from Tijuana.
Ruxandra Guidi
A Border Patrol agent faces the fence separating San Diego from Tijuana.
Groups Ask Congress To Cut Border Enforcement Funds
The congressional supercommittee failed to settle on a bipartisan proposal to cut the nation's deficit. Some advocates for immigration reform say there are savings to be had by cutting border enforcement.

According to the Washington-based think tank National Immigration Forum, funding for the Border Patrol has grown by about 1,000 percent since 1993. Its operating budget is now $1.4 billion and it rises, on average, about $300 million annually.

The National Immigration Forum is one of a handful of pro-immigrant groups pressuring Congress to make cuts to border enforcement as a way to save taxpayers more than $2.6 billion.

"We believe that, at this juncture, an increase for Border Patrol in excess of $300 million in the coming fiscal year is unjustified," said Billy Moore, a spokesperson with the Texas Border Coalition, an association representing the mayors of towns and cities along the border.

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"But when we are looking for cuts, we believe Congress could start there," Moore said.

The 2012 Department of Homeland Security budget calls for more than $16 billion for immigration and border enforcement. However, current changes to deportation policy that focus on immigrants who pose a threat to public safety are expected to save about $1.6 billion annually in detention costs.

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