Jim Banks: Democrats Want $13B to Resettle Afghans Across U.S. After Spiking Border Wall Funding

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) says Democrats want more than $13 billion to resettle an endless flow of Afghans across the United States, even as they previously spiked far less in funding to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Thursday evening, every House Democrat and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) voted in support of a government funding bill that includes more than $7 billion to resettle tens of thousands, and potentially hundreds of thousands, of Afghans across the U.S. as part of President Joe Biden’s resettlement operation.

Those funds are in addition to the $6.4 billion to resettle Afghans that 34 House Republicans and 15 Senate Republicans approved in September. The total amount, if the Senate passes the funding bill, will reach more than $13.3 billion — indicating that Congress will spend $140,000 per Afghan brought to the U.S.

Banks, who led Republican opposition in the House to the funding bill, noted in a statement that the Afghan resettlement funding is far more than the billions in border wall funding that were previously spiked by House and Senate Democrats, as well as some Republicans.

“So now it looks like we’re going to spend $13.3 billion on resettling Afghan refugees,” Banks wrote. “But remember, Congress wouldn’t even approve $8.6 billion for Trump’s border wall. It’s infuriating to watch our leaders continue to put America last.”

In 2018 and 2019, House and Senate Democrats repeatedly shot down spending bills that would have fully funded border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration. In some cases, then-President Trump signed bills despite not securing additional wall funding.

Behind the scenes, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) circulated a statement on Capitol Hill to Republican lawmakers noting their opposition to “importing random, unscreened, unvetted Afghans.”

“The [continuing resolution] slated for consideration today reaffirms the misguided immigration priorities of Congressional Democrats,” the statement reads.

“Not only is this rider costly and inappropriate, the language is so broad that even non-Afghans ‘at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan’ qualify for relief. This will allow the Biden administration to resettle scores of additional individuals with few – if any – ties to the U.S. military or our mission in Afghanistan,” the statement continues. “How is this in the best interest of the American people?”

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.