Obama Approves $600M for Mexico Border Control

In what was probably a welcome relief for President Barack Obama, the House and Senate both approved a bill providing $600 million in emergency funding to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border—a measure that has attracted strong bipartisan support and avoided the usual Senate gridlock. Obama plans to sign the bill on Friday, allocating 1,500 new law enforcement agents to the area, new unmanned aerial vehicles, new operating bases and $14 million for new communications equipment. Part of the bill's funding comes from fees placed on personnel companies that bring foreign workers into the United States. Obama said that the bill's passage "answers my call to bolster the essential work of federal law enforcement officials and improve their ability to partner with state, local and tribal law enforcement," adding that it will make "an important difference" in immigration reform.