Democrats to unveil $2.7B bill on alien children

FILE - This June 25, 2014, file photo shows a group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are stopped in Granjeno, Texas. The influx at the border is largely families with children or by minors traveling alone. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) FILE - This June 25, 2014, file photo shows a group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are stopped in Granjeno, Texas. The influx at the border is largely families with children or by minors traveling alone. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

By Associated Press July 22, 2014 5 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats on Tuesday circulated legislation to significantly cut President Barack Obama’s request for emergency funding to deal with an influx of Central American children streaming across the U.S. border with Mexico.

Struggling to deal with the issue before Congress’ August break, Democrats floated a measure that also would provide immediate aid to Israel for the Iron Dome missile defense system as well as money needed to fight wildfires in Western states.

Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is scheduled to release the measure on Wednesday.

The legislation cuts Obama’s $3.7 billion request for sheltering and processing unaccompanied immigrant children by $1 billion. It includes $225 million for Iron Dome, designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortars, as Israel battles Hamas militants, and $615 million for wildfires.

The proposal puts Democrats on a collision course with Republicans who insist on coupling the additional money with policy changes to a 2008 law that guarantees these unaccompanied minors, many of whom are fleeing violence, a hearing before an immigration judge.