President Obama requested financial help from Congress on Tuesday to combat a growing immigration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border, appealing for emergency funding to the tune of nearly $4 billion. “The financial request, which is almost twice as much as initial reports had suggested might be necessary, would boost spending on border patrol agents, immigration judges, aerial surveillance, and new detention facilities,” the New York Times reports. “Nearly half of the money would be used to improve care for the children while they are moved through the deportation process.”
Obama is set to visit Texas this week, in part, to hold meetings on the situation and the stakes are high. “More than 50,000 young people have showed up unaccompanied since last fall, many fleeing oppressive violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, but also drawn by rumors that once in the U.S. they would be allowed to stay,” according to the Associated Press.
