The American Immigration Council does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office. We aim to provide analysis regarding the implications of the election on the U.S. immigration system.

Today, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) released a Border Security Proposal which would provide $600 million in offset funding for various border security provisions. The bill was a counter to a different border security bill proposed by Republican Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain, which would have gleaned its funding from the 2009 economic stimulus.

The Schumer-McCaskill bill proposes $175.9 million for the hiring of additional Border Patrol agents on the southwest border, $50 million for additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, $14 million for additional border fencing, $32 million for unmanned aerial vehicles, and funding for a number of other programs designed to secure the border and fight drug and gun smuggling.