U.S. floats shift of cash to border

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's administration, facing a growing immigration enforcement mission on the southern U.S. border, is considering a plan to shift money from the U.S. Coast Guard to other parts of the Department of Homeland Security, according to U.S. officials and an internal Coast Guard message obtained by The Washington Post.

Most of the funding would go to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which also is part of Homeland Security. The department has the authority to move money around between its components and may also shift other funding to pay for the immigration agency's operations.

The Coast Guard message stated that $77 million could be shifted and that several courses of action have been presented to Adm. Karl Schultz, the Coast Guard commandant. The Coast Guard Reserve also "may be required to provide a contribution," the message said.

Coast Guard officials, asked to comment on the message, referred questions to the Homeland Security Department.

"The Coast Guard doesn't discuss any of our internal deliberative processes," said Alana Miller, a service spokesman. "Additionally, any potential budget conversation would be predecisional in nature."

A Homeland Security Department spokesman, Lesley Fulop, said in a statement that the department is "currently evaluating the need to reallocate funds, and will do so in a manner to minimize the impact on its operations and mission execution to the maximum extent possible."

Added Fulop: "The women and men of the Department of Homeland Security work together with one shared mission to secure our nation's homeland and protect Americans from threats by land, sea, air and in cyberspace. Each year, the Department undergoes a routine process to assess the resource execution of programs, review emergent requirements and address leadership priorities."

It marks at least the second time that the Trump administration has looked to the Coast Guard to pay for other Homeland Security needs.

In March 2017, draft versions of the administration's first budget called for the Coast Guard budget to be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion as part of a broader plan to fund Trump's proposed border wall. The plan was scuttled after it was reported in the media and decried by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

But the administration and Congress have increased Coast Guard funding since then. The service ultimately received $10.5 billion in 2018, with $11.65 billion planned in 2019.

Trump, enamored with the Coast Guard's response to devastating hurricanes last year, has repeatedly praised its "brand."

"People have tremendous respect for the United States Coast Guard," Trump said June 1, as the service replaced its retiring commandant, Adm. Paul Zukunft, with Schultz. "It's true. Right? I've told you that before."

Zukunft often raised concerns about the Coast Guard not getting enough money, and said the service was "delighted" with the increased funding from the new administration.

A Section on 06/23/2018