U.S. Border Patrol Agents at Border Field State Park in Imperial Beach watch over personnel that are reinforcing the border wall with concertina wire. (Photo: Mani Albrecht/U.S. Border Patrol/Flickr)
Dec 15, 2019
Immigrant rights advocates on Monday denounced Democrats for reportedly agreeing to $1.375 billion in funding for President Donald Trump's border wall obsession and called on lawmakers to speak out against the agreement.
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) called for fellow members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to completely reject funding the wall.
"Otherwise, why even exist?" the congressman tweeted. "It's time to stand up for border communities!"
\u201cCongressional Hispanic Caucus members! Reject 1.3 BILLION more in border wall funding! Otherwise, why even exist? It\u2019s time to stand up for border communities!\u201d— US Rep. Filemon Vela (@US Rep. Filemon Vela) 1576513080
The spending bill was agreed to last week after negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Appropriations Chairwoman Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.), and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.).
\u201cIt was bad last week when Pelosi gave 2 press conferences: 1 announcing articles of impeachment against Trump, then 1 announcing a trade deal with Trump. This week, Dems will vote to impeach Trump \n& vote to give him $1 billion+ for his racist border wall. https://t.co/VfLaaPskp2\u201d— Sam Sacks (@Sam Sacks) 1576517758
According to Politico, the border wall funding represents a compromise of sorts:
Money for the U.S.-Mexico barrier will stay static during the current fiscal year, at about $1.4 billion, rather than the president's request for $8.6 billion. Budgets for the nation's two immigration enforcement agencies--Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement--are also largely flat-lined.
Journalist David Dayen, noting that Trump can easily find more funding for the wall by moving money around, was nonetheless confused by Democrats giving the president a win.
"What's the rationale to make things easier on Trump here?" wondered Dayen.
\u201cBREAKING: Congress set to debut $1.4T spending deal that sidesteps a border wall funding fight, funds gun violence research for the first time in 20 years, repeals 3 major health insurance taxes and maintains the same number of ICE detention beds.\n\nMORE: https://t.co/2g06TGOzmF\u201d— Caitlin Emma (@Caitlin Emma) 1576520954
Though the border wall spending is far less than the $5 billion the president wanted, opponents of Trump's immigration policies took issue with funding the wall at all.
News of the spending bill's border wall provision provoked groans from progressives on social media.
"Hell of an opposition party Trump has to face," journalist James Fredrik said sarcastically.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Immigrant rights advocates on Monday denounced Democrats for reportedly agreeing to $1.375 billion in funding for President Donald Trump's border wall obsession and called on lawmakers to speak out against the agreement.
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) called for fellow members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to completely reject funding the wall.
"Otherwise, why even exist?" the congressman tweeted. "It's time to stand up for border communities!"
\u201cCongressional Hispanic Caucus members! Reject 1.3 BILLION more in border wall funding! Otherwise, why even exist? It\u2019s time to stand up for border communities!\u201d— US Rep. Filemon Vela (@US Rep. Filemon Vela) 1576513080
The spending bill was agreed to last week after negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Appropriations Chairwoman Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.), and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.).
\u201cIt was bad last week when Pelosi gave 2 press conferences: 1 announcing articles of impeachment against Trump, then 1 announcing a trade deal with Trump. This week, Dems will vote to impeach Trump \n& vote to give him $1 billion+ for his racist border wall. https://t.co/VfLaaPskp2\u201d— Sam Sacks (@Sam Sacks) 1576517758
According to Politico, the border wall funding represents a compromise of sorts:
Money for the U.S.-Mexico barrier will stay static during the current fiscal year, at about $1.4 billion, rather than the president's request for $8.6 billion. Budgets for the nation's two immigration enforcement agencies--Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement--are also largely flat-lined.
Journalist David Dayen, noting that Trump can easily find more funding for the wall by moving money around, was nonetheless confused by Democrats giving the president a win.
"What's the rationale to make things easier on Trump here?" wondered Dayen.
\u201cBREAKING: Congress set to debut $1.4T spending deal that sidesteps a border wall funding fight, funds gun violence research for the first time in 20 years, repeals 3 major health insurance taxes and maintains the same number of ICE detention beds.\n\nMORE: https://t.co/2g06TGOzmF\u201d— Caitlin Emma (@Caitlin Emma) 1576520954
Though the border wall spending is far less than the $5 billion the president wanted, opponents of Trump's immigration policies took issue with funding the wall at all.
News of the spending bill's border wall provision provoked groans from progressives on social media.
"Hell of an opposition party Trump has to face," journalist James Fredrik said sarcastically.
Immigrant rights advocates on Monday denounced Democrats for reportedly agreeing to $1.375 billion in funding for President Donald Trump's border wall obsession and called on lawmakers to speak out against the agreement.
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) called for fellow members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to completely reject funding the wall.
"Otherwise, why even exist?" the congressman tweeted. "It's time to stand up for border communities!"
\u201cCongressional Hispanic Caucus members! Reject 1.3 BILLION more in border wall funding! Otherwise, why even exist? It\u2019s time to stand up for border communities!\u201d— US Rep. Filemon Vela (@US Rep. Filemon Vela) 1576513080
The spending bill was agreed to last week after negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Appropriations Chairwoman Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.), and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.).
\u201cIt was bad last week when Pelosi gave 2 press conferences: 1 announcing articles of impeachment against Trump, then 1 announcing a trade deal with Trump. This week, Dems will vote to impeach Trump \n& vote to give him $1 billion+ for his racist border wall. https://t.co/VfLaaPskp2\u201d— Sam Sacks (@Sam Sacks) 1576517758
According to Politico, the border wall funding represents a compromise of sorts:
Money for the U.S.-Mexico barrier will stay static during the current fiscal year, at about $1.4 billion, rather than the president's request for $8.6 billion. Budgets for the nation's two immigration enforcement agencies--Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement--are also largely flat-lined.
Journalist David Dayen, noting that Trump can easily find more funding for the wall by moving money around, was nonetheless confused by Democrats giving the president a win.
"What's the rationale to make things easier on Trump here?" wondered Dayen.
\u201cBREAKING: Congress set to debut $1.4T spending deal that sidesteps a border wall funding fight, funds gun violence research for the first time in 20 years, repeals 3 major health insurance taxes and maintains the same number of ICE detention beds.\n\nMORE: https://t.co/2g06TGOzmF\u201d— Caitlin Emma (@Caitlin Emma) 1576520954
Though the border wall spending is far less than the $5 billion the president wanted, opponents of Trump's immigration policies took issue with funding the wall at all.
News of the spending bill's border wall provision provoked groans from progressives on social media.
"Hell of an opposition party Trump has to face," journalist James Fredrik said sarcastically.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.