(NewsNation) — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused the Biden administration of making false claims regarding budget requests on the border in a memo sent to House Republicans.
The memo, obtained by NewsNation, addressed comments from the administration that House Republicans had voted to cut funding for 2,000 border agents. Johnson accused the White House of using “phony numbers” in the claim, which was rated mostly false by Politifact.
The numbers refer to a draft appropriations bill from House Republicans which included substantial voting cuts. The 2,000 agents figure given by the White House assumed all cuts would be made equally across departments which would not necessarily have been the case and the proposal was never voted on.
Johnson also noted funding for the border has increased each year during the Biden presidency.
The Speaker also decried the requests for border security funding in the White House’s supplemental security request, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel and is still being negotiated in Congress.
Johnson criticized funding that is meant to help manage the crisis, including increasing the processing of migrants. Some of those who are seeking asylum in the U.S. are now receiving court dates as far away as 2029 and backlogs in processing work permits have also exacerbated the crisis.
Johnson also decried funds dedicated to aid for those who have crossed into the U.S. and for State Department programs intended to help stem the flow of people attempting to migrate to the U.S.
“If a 47% increase in similar funding over the last 2 years has only led to more illegal crossings, it’s clear the latest unserious request will do little to stem the flow of illegal immigration,” Johnson wrote.
House Republicans are demanding changes to border policy in order to approve the latest supplemental funding, including construction of border walls, changes to detention policies and increased restrictions on those seeking asylum in the U.S.