BORDER/CONGRESS/FEDERAL FUNDING/HHS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House asked Congress on Wednesday [5-1-19] to allocate $4.5 billion in emergency funds for the southwestern border as federal agencies struggle to house and cope with the influx of asylum seekers coming into the United States. The request, which includes about $3.3 billion to house unaccompanied migrant children, feed and care for migrants in custody and staff processing centers, is unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled House without changes. It would not halt the surge of Central American families crossing the southwestern border, but it would allow the Department of Homeland Security to add beds at migrant processing facilities and detention facilities. The request also includes more than $2.8 billion — more than half of the money requested — for the Department of Health and Human Services to care for more than 23,000 unaccompanied children. Democrats have already questioned the billions of dollars that President Trump previously requested in his budget for border security and are embroiled in a lawsuit over Mr. Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency to build a border wall.”
–Emily Cochrane and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “White House Asks Congress for Billions More in Border Funding,” The New York Times online, May 1, 2019