By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden is calling for funding to investigate complaints of white supremacist beliefs at U.S. immigration enforcement agencies, according to a summary of his budget request for the coming fiscal year released on Friday.
The Biden administration is asking Congress to increase the funding level for workforce oversight offices within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to $470 million, a 22% increase over the current level.
The additional funding would ensure that workforce complaints – “including those related to white supremacy or ideological and non-ideological beliefs” – are investigated quickly, according to a summary of Biden’s budget proposal.
It was not immediately clear whether any specific incidents sparked the call for funding to battle white supremacy at CBP and ICE. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The White House budget proposal is a request of Congress to provide funding in fiscal year 2022, which begins on Oct. 1, 2021. The document reflects Biden’s position on the spending, which will ultimately need to be appropriated by Congress.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington, Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller)
