Trump Budget Proposal an Attack on Working Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2017

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, gastelum@nilc-ijf.org, 213-375-3149

WASHINGTON — Today President Trump released his proposal for next year’s federal spending. The proposed budget cuts more than $1 trillion in spending for vital social programs such as Medicaid and Meals on Wheels and invests $2.6 billion in additional immigration enforcement, including funds for detention, deportation, and the construction of Trump’s border wall.

Kamal Essaheb, director of policy and advocacy for the National Immigration Law Center Immigrant Justice Fund, released the following statement:

“President Trump’s budget proposal is a clear attack on America’s working families and most vulnerable residents. The proposal released today provides a blueprint for the destruction of policies and programs millions of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, rely on to survive hard times and keep the American Dream alive.

“Without Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, and programs to aid people with disabilities, millions of Americans are at risk of losing access to even the most basic living standards. Instead of letting the rich get richer as a result of more tax cuts, while throwing working families into a devastating tailspin, we should enact stronger policies to create jobs, raise wages, invest in education, and give people a chance at a better future.

“How Trump and the Republican Party intend to spend the savings made from cutting these crucial programs is just as disturbing. An additional $2.6 billion dedicated to the already out-of-control deportation force will only further divide our communities, sowing fear and ripping more families apart. The consequences of today’s deportation force unleashed under this administration are already horrifying. To provide ICE and Border Patrol with more resources is to give them a gold star for abuse of power and acting with impunity.

“As Trump’s proposal now heads to Congress, we are putting Democrats on notice: To sign off on even one more penny for immigration detention, ICE and Border Patrol agents, or the wall not only makes you complicit in this force, but makes clear your full endorsement of it. As the Republican Party continues to blindly follow Trump’s reckless lead in lockstep, executing some of the most ill-conceived, destructive policies this country has ever seen, Democrats must continue to resist and not waver in their resolve to defeat this agenda.”

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