Immigration-Enforcement Staff Would Grow Under Budget Proposal

By Byron Tau

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is proposing a major increase in immigration-enforcement personnel, looking to add 100 new immigration judges and 300 attorneys to better handle a massive backlog of cases pending in the nation’s immigration courts.

As part of budget proposal released Monday, the administration is requesting $71.1 million to support 600 additional positions in the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

In addition to 400 new judge and attorney positions, the department is also looking to bring on 200 new law clerks, legal assistants, interpreters and other support staff as part of an effort to help process the nearly 800,000 pending immigration cases across the country.

Immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department whose jurisdiction is limited to immigration matters such as deportation and asylum.

The request for a major uptick in new immigration-enforcement personnel came as part of a $4.7 trillion budget proposal released by the administration — a blueprint to its spending priorities for the next fiscal year, which also includes a $8.6 billion request for additional barriers along the southern U.S. border.

Democrats in control of the U.S. House of Representatives have already signaled their opposition to many of Mr. Trump’s immigration efforts; Mr. Trump’s budget proposals are just that—under the Constitution, it is the House that has the power of the purse.

Beyond the immigration-enforcement measures, the Justice Department is also seeking budget increases to better deal with national security, cybersecurity and the opioid epidemic.

The department has requested $70.5 million to improve the FBI’s cybersecurity information programs—aiming to create 33 new positions with the funding increase. The budget seeks $11.7 million to create 44 new positions in the Drug Enforcement Administration to work on cyber investigations there.

The administration is also seeking $13.1 million in new funding for opioid enforcement efforts in an attempt to stem the flow of pain drugs that has become an epidemic in many states. Another $30 million would be given to the FBI and DEA to combat transnational gangs — many of which are involved in narcotics trafficking.

To fight violent crime, the Trump administration wants an additional nearly $140 million, including $4.2 million for 40 new positions aimed at improving the background check process for firearms purchases. The administration proposes another $80 million in grant programs for state and local law enforcement and other organizations to improve neighborhood safety.

Despite these increases, the administration’s request amounts to an overall cut of 2% to the Justice Department’s budget, to $29.2 billion, over 2019 levels. But Justice Department officials said few programs or offices will see cuts since the Department has additional funds that have been appropriated by Congress but never spent.

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