Quick Bytes
- President Biden signs FY 2024 funding package, avoiding government shutdown.
- Funding increases for border enforcement and detention, including hiring of new agents.
- Legal immigration policy improvements and backlog reduction efforts receive modest funding.
- Transparency measures enhanced for immigration agencies and programs.
Summary of the FY 2024 Funding Package
On March 23, President Biden enacted the FY 2024 funding package, concluding extensive negotiations and averting a potential government shutdown. The package notably increases funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with a nearly $4 billion budget rise aimed at enhancing border enforcement and expanding detention capabilities.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is set to receive a significant budget increase, allowing for the hiring of over 2,000 new border agents and 150 additional officers at ports of entry. The funding also allocates $1.7 billion for border management, including the construction of new migrant holding facilities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will also benefit from increased detention funding, permitting the detention of 41,500 individuals simultaneously—a 24% increase in capacity.
Despite the focus on enforcement, the package includes provisions for legal immigration and backlog reduction. The State Department will issue an additional 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan nationals, and the DHS secretary is authorized to exempt certain “returning workers” from the H-2B visa cap. USCIS is granted $34 million to address work permit and asylum application backlogs, and new transparency requirements are introduced for immigration agencies to provide more detailed and frequent data on their operations.
While the funding package leans heavily towards enforcement, it also offers hope for future compromise in the contentious field of immigration policy as Congress begins planning for FY 2025.
