Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked his Republican colleagues in Congress on Sunday to give the Trump administration additional funding so that the president may carry out his plan of mass deportations.
“The Republican Party has this question. Although we discuss doing this, we lack the necessary resources. In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Graham stated, “We haven’t provided the Trump team with the resources.”
One of President Donald Trump’s main campaign slogans was mass deportation. He frequently stated in his stump speech that he would deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants thought to be in the United States, as part of his pledge to “launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”
Trump brushed aside worries about the cost of this endeavor right after the election, telling NBC News in a post-election interview in November that “It’s not a question of a price tag.”
“It’s not really, we have no choice,” he continued. When drug lords have ruined nations and people have slain and murdered, they will return to those nations because they will not be staying here. No price tag is present.
However, Tom Homan, Trump’s chosen border czar, has told conservative media in recent weeks that Congress must increase funding for the endeavor in order to meet Trump’s campaign pledge.
“This operation is going to be expensive to begin with, but in the long run, there’s going to be huge tax savings for the American taxpayer,” Homan stated in a December appearance on Fox Business Sunday Morning Futures, adding that the minimum amount is $86 billion.
Homan stated in an interview with Fox News in November that “we’ve got to have the resources to do the job.”
“We need to give Tom Homan the money now to execute the plan that he’s come up with and without congressional funding, this is going to hit a wall,” Graham told “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker on Sunday, emphasizing the importance of this issue.
Graham also supported the idea of paying Trump’s plan through the reconciliation process, which gives the Senate a simple majority to pass some tax and funding-related laws.
Therefore, we must reconcile two bills. $100 billion for the border and $200 billion for national security should be included in the first bill. “Give Tom the means to carry out a mass deportation plan,” Graham stated.
Although Homan has stated that he will utilize more funds to purchase more detention beds and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, experts have questioned whether the administration will be able to deport more than 10 million individuals in a single presidential term.
On Sunday, Graham appeared to concur that deporting all illegal residents of the United States would be logistically challenging.
“I’m not so sure they’re going to deport 11 million people,” he stated. However, he indicated that some illegal immigrant groups, such as those with prior criminal convictions, might be given priority for deportation.
Graham added that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have been found guilty of “serious crimes.” “He said they’re going to deport people here that part of gangs that are criminals,” Graham claimed.