(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify there are competing proposals.)
Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham’s recently released budget plan includes full funding for President Trump’s border wall proposal, seeking to head off a counterproposal that would offer just a fraction of the money Mr. Trump wants.
Mr. Graham’s plan includes $46.5 billion for the wall, as well as $45 billion in new money to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carrying out Mr. Trump’s mass deportation plans, and added billions more for other immigration operations both at the border and the interior.
And the bill includes $10 billion to reimburse states for having to deal with the surge of illegal immigrants under President Biden, as well as some extra money to pay for Homeland Security coverage of upcoming sporting events such as next year’s soccer World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
Sen. Rand Paul, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released his own proposal calling for just $6.5 billion in wall money along with several billion dollars in other border funding for checkpoints and port technology.
Mr. Paul has complained that the administration’s estimate represents a three-fold increase in wall-building costs, and he said the White House hasn’t justified that.
Mr. Graham said a “terrific” briefing by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller did answer those questions.
“As budget chairman, I will do my best to ensure that the president’s border security plan is fully funded because I believe it has been fully justified,” the South Carolina Republican said. “The president promised to secure our border. His plan fulfills that promise. The Senate must do our part.”
But Mr. Paul’s office said Mr. Trump has already managed to cut illegal border crossings dramatically without the additional wall money, and he said the cost was too extravagant.
“This plan delivers everything needed to finish the job: a secure wall, thousands of new agents, expanded detention capacity, and a legal system that finally keeps up with illegal immigration,” Mr. Paul’s office said.
The plans are part of Mr. Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” the unified Republican budget “reconciliation” package that contains much of the president’s early agenda for his second term.
Immigrant rights groups have complained about the size of immigration enforcement funding, arguing that Mr. Trump has already secured the border without additional wall-building.
They also fear the infusion of cash for ICE deportation operations will give the agency more resources to expand arrests beyond the most serious criminals and go after illegal immigrants with lesser offenses, such as illegal presence.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, released his proposal covering other immigration matters in the bill, and it delivers more than just cash to Mr. Trump — it also includes new disincentives to illegal immigrants.
It would impose a $1,000 fee on the filing of asylum applications, and a $100 fee for every year the application remains pending. That could deter some of the more frivolous claims that have proliferated as migrants realized they could use them to delay deportation.
The bill also imposes a $1,000 fee for migrants “paroled” into the U.S., a $550 fee for seeking an employment authorization, a $500 fee for those who seek Temporary Protected Status and $500 for juveniles who seek special status.
Those types of applications had previously been free of cost, with backers saying they were part of America’s humanitarian mission. Illegal immigration opponents, though, say the lack of cost invited abuse of the system.
Money in his proposal would support hiring more Border Patrol agents, enhancing background checks for new arrivals and paying for buses and flights to usher unauthorized migrants back home.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.