Democrats in the U.S. Senate proposed trimming US$1 billion from the US$3.7 billion border fund request of President Barack Obama, which would be used to deal with the influx of 57,000 undocumented children crossing the border from Central America.

On July 8, Obama requested a US$3.7-billion emergency funding to boost the security and deportation processes at the southern border, but the Congress did not yet approve the application. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski said on Tuesday that they needed to reduce the request to US$2.7 billion based on their review of the situation, Reuters detailed.

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The bill of the Senate Democrats also includes US$615 million to help fight wildfires and US$225 million to assist Israel in building its anti-missile defense system. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hoped the Congress would approve the request in ten days because the agencies' funding will run dry by mid-August.

Republicans, on the other hand, think the emergency funding will not be approved without an amendment to a 2008 human anti-trafficking law. Federal authorities should be able to deport children easily from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, who cross the U.S. border illegally, they said.

Many of the Democrats in Congress argue that they are not in favor of the speedy deportation of children who are trying to flee from violence of their countries of origin. Many of these kids are also trying to find their relatives in the U.S.

Mikulski said the Senate bill will not include any change to the 2008 anti-trafficking law.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator John Cornyn told media that the main cause of the border problem was the impression that those who can cross the U.S. border will be able to stay. Obama reinforced this idea in 2012 when he decided to ease the deportations of children illegally transported to the U.S. before mid-2007.

Last week, House Speaker John Boehner said the lawmakers' response to Obama's border request was uncertain. A Republican committee working on border problems is set to present its recommendations for the request this week.

Obama's administration is currently struggling to control the surge of the immigrants at the southern border. This problem is taking its toll on immigration resources and stirring up protests from citizens who are against the government allowing border crossers to stay in their communities.

TagsU.S. border crisis, Border Fund Plan, Barack Obama