× ELECTION Coverage of Arizona's election with all-day analysis and live results beginning at 8pm.Election CoverageElection Results
  1. Home
 / Modified jul 27, 2018 12:20 p.m.

Committee Approves Border Budget, Adds Protection for Some Asylum Seekers

The funding includes $5 billion to build 200 miles of new border wall. by Michel Marizco, Fronteras Desk

Border Fence hills The U.S.-Mexico border fence.
AZPM

The House Appropriations Committee voted to move forward with $51 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including $5 billion to build 200 miles of new border wall.

But an amendment was also included that allows some immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gangs in their home countries to use those as reasons for why they are fleeing their home country to U.S. ports. That’s something the Trump administration tried to stop earlier this summer when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department would stop granting that credible fear reasoning from being used in some cases.

Sara Ramey is the executive director of the Migrant Center for Human Rights.

"It didn’t completely eliminate protection for domestic violence survivors but in practice we are already seeing it have an effect on people’s chances," she said of the new guidelines given to the Justice Department.

The amendment prevents any of the budget funds from being used to implement that limit on asylum seekers.

Fronteras Desk
This story is from the Fronteras Desk, a collaboration of Southwestern public radio stations, including NPR 89.1. Read more from the Fronteras Desk.
MORE: Border, Fronteras Desk, Immigration, Law Enforcement, News
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona