The White House sent Congress a $4.5 billion emergency spending request on Wednesday, citing an unfolding “humanitarian and security crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border as record numbers of Central American families and children seek entrance to the United States.
The request includes $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance and $1.1 billion for border operations, and it represents a dramatic escalation of the administration’s efforts to address the situation at the border.
The money would be in addition to the more than $8 billion that President Trump asked for in his 2020 budget request to build border barriers, as well as some $6 billion in funding he sought as he declared a national emergency at the border earlier this year.