WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on the Trump Administration’s decision to transfer—despite congressional objections—State Department funds to the Department of Homeland Security to pay for deportations from Mexico to third countries:

“I’m outraged that the Trump Administration is disregarding Congress and plowing ahead with its senseless plan to fund deportations from Mexico. It’s apparently not enough for this Administration to rip children from their parents. Now, President Trump is attempting to use the State Department to force his deportation crusade on other countries. Not surprisingly, the current Mexican government has not agreed to accept these funds, and it appears unlikely that President-elect Lopez Obrador would sign off on this ridiculous scheme.

"Transferring scarce State Department resources—which could be used for poverty reduction or democracy promotion—to the Department of Homeland Security sets an extremely dangerous precedent. The State Department’s role is to carry out our foreign policy, not to impose Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda on our neighbors. Unfortunately, what comes next could be even worse. Will the President drain diplomatic security funds to pay for his border wall? Will he use development assistance to create additional tent cities for migrant children on our southwest border?

“The Trump Administration’s decision to ignore Congress and move forward with this funding is a waste of money that will have dangerous repercussions for years to come. The day may soon come when Congress reasserts its role as a check on the executive branch. That day will sound a rude awakening for this Administration.”

# # #