Omnibus Funds Illegal Immigrant Resettlement in the United States

The $1.1 trillion year-end omnibus spending bill includes more funding to settle illegal immigrants in the United States.

Language in the omnibus appropriations bill provides more than $1.6 billion over the coming two years to resettle the surge of “unaccompanied minors” from Latin America who cross the southern border, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The language that includes the funding for resettlement is found on page 917:

For necessary expenses for refugee and entrant assistance activities authorized by section 414 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, and for carrying out section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (‘‘TVPA’’), section 203 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998, $1,674,691,000, of which $1,645,201,000 shall remain available through September 30, 2018.

The past couple months have seen a spike in illegal immigration at the southern border by unaccompanied minors and family units.

In October and November, 10,588 unaccompanied minors—largely from Central America—were apprehended illegally entering the U.S., a 106 percent increase over the same timeframe last year when Border Patrol apprehended 5,129 unaccompanied minors.

Once they are admitted into the United States, “unaccompanied minors” from noncontiguous nations are placed in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement until they are turned over to a family member or sponsor in the U.S. to await courtroom claims for residency permits.