Rick Perry: Obama's $3.7 Billion Spending Request Will Not Secure the Border

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Thursday, July 10, 2014

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) is greeted by Texas Governor Rick Perry upon Obama's arrival in Dallas to discuss a surge of Latin American young people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border July 9, 2014. Congressional Republicans on Wednesday cast a skeptical eye on a White House request for .7 billion to address an influx of child migrants at the U.S. border while Obama met with top critic Perry. Obama is battling political pressure from supporters and opponents alike to halt a growing humanitarian crisis along the Texas border with Mexico. | (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

President Barack Obama's request for $3.7 billion to fix the problems with the Southern border of the United States will not work, Texas Governor Rick Perry argued, because most of it will not be spent on border security.

The long-serving Lone Star State governor and former Republican presidential hopeful recently spoke to Sean Hannity of Fox News about the problems of the border.

"It is a humanitarian crisis and that I will suggest is the reason the President needs to come to the border to see it himself," said Perry.

"I think about the criticism that George W. Bush received when he didn't go to New Orleans, Katrina. This is no different."

Regarding President Obama's call for a $3.7 billion supplemental to deal with problems on the border, Perry said that very little of that money will go where it needs to.

"Less than two percent of it is for border security," said Perry, who questioned the motives behind the supplemental.

"I haven't gotten into the weeds on this, but from my perspective the supplemental isn't about securing the border. The supplemental is about something else."

While Perry acknowledged that the $3.7 billion supplemental was "a huge amount of money", he questioned how effective it will be in solving the latest border problems.

"When you start talking about less than a hundred million dollars of that is going to go for border security, it doesn't work," said Perry.

Perry's comments to Hannity come not long after the possible 2016 GOP presidential hopeful met with Obama regarding the growing crisis on the border.

A large number of children have crossed the southern border from Central America into Texas and Arizona, prompting the creation of immigration centers for the minors while they are processed.

Debate has existed as to how the children should be processed, which can depend on where they are from according to Michael Scherer of Time Magazine.

"Under current law, unaccompanied minors from Central America are automatically referred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which works to place them with family members already residing in the United States while they await a court date," reported Scherer.

"Unaccompanied minors from Mexico, however, are treated differently, and can be screened for immediate return to their home country by U.S. Border Patrol if they do not present human trafficking or refugee concerns."

The White House has asked Congress for an estimated $3.7 billion in emergency funds to help Central American minors who have crossed the border.

White House officials say the funds will be used to provide services to the minors, as well as build detention centers, provide immigration judges, and increase border security.

Critics charge that the funds represent a "blank check" that will not be spent properly to secure the border, much less effectively process the unaccompanied minors.