Nevada Republicans wary, Dems mixed on border money

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s request for Congress to spend almost $4 billion to address the immigration crisis on the southern border drew a mixed reaction Tuesday from Nevada Democrats, while Republicans greeted it warily.

Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said approving the new spending “is something we have to do.”

“The main thing we have to do is recognize we have an emergency,” Reid said, adding he was hopeful the $3.7 billion legislation could pass before Congress takes a monthlong break in August.

For that reason Reid said he would not favor adding other items to the bill or holding it up with demands that its cost be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget — which some Republicans already were hinting Tuesday.

Democratic Rep. Dina Titus said she was going to vote for the president’s request but added Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform as well.

“I strongly support the President’s funding request to address this urgent humanitarian crisis,” Titus said. “It is imperative that we ensure that these unaccompanied children are treated humanely and are able to move through the immigration process as quickly as possible.

“I also support efforts to address the underlying cause of this influx by improving communication and increasing collaboration with Central American nations,” she said. “But this is simply not enough. We need to pass comprehensive reform to fix our broken immigration system.

Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, who went to the Texas border in June and returned calling the situation a refugee crisis, said he needed to look over the president’s proposal, which includes spending for more immigration judges and Border Patrol agents and to improve detention facilities for migrants — items that would speed deportations of children who have arrived in the United States unaccompanied.

“I will review the president’s proposal with two guiding principles in mind: how does this address the humanitarian crisis and what does it do to improve our border security?” Horsford said.

Republican Rep. Mark Amodei “will need far more information on how the funding would be used at the border” before taking a position, spokesman Brian Baluta said.

Amodei, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which would take first crack at the Obama plan, believes “using the funds just to maintain the current situation is unacceptable from humanitarian and border enforcement perspectives,” Baluta said.

Republican Sen. Dean Heller did not comment on the Obama request. Likewise, Republican Rep. Joe Heck was withholding comment until he has a chance to study it further, his spokesman said.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.