The wall that the Trump administration plans to build along the southern border may be a barrier to national security.
To help pay for the wall, the administration is considering cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Washington Post reports.
The Coast Guard’s annual budget may be cut 14%, to about $7.8 billion. The cut would cover teams that detect weapons of mass destruction, detain smugglers, board suspect vessels and escort ships deemed to present or be at risk.
At TSA, the proposed budget would eliminate a program that sends agents and dogs to sweep airports, rail terminals and subway stations for explosives, as well as grants that local police departments use to pay for the cost of patrolling airports. Funds that FEMA uses to help state and local governments prepare for natural disasters and respond to emergencies would be slashed as well.
The proposed cuts reflect a reprioritization of security spending. Overall, the administration is considering boosting by 6.4%, to $43.8 billion, the budget for the Department of Homeland Security.
According to the Post, some $2.9 billion would go to funding the wall along the southern border. An additional $1.9 billon would pay for more immigration officers and border patrol agents, as well as beds for immigrants held in detention.
In February, the DHS published a preliminary blueprint for the wall that sheds light on what construction entails. In addition to planning, design, construction and maintenance, funds would pay for “attendant lighting, technology (including sensors), as well as patrol and access roads.”
As you might expect from this White House, the memos obligate the builders to consult with, among others, “nongovernmental entities having relevant experience” and to use “materials originated in the United States.”