Unless Congress sets strict parameters about how the Obama administration spends any money appropriated to deal with the border crisis, Congress should not give the president a nickel, former DEA and INS officer Michael Cutler said on
Newsmax TV's "America's Forum" on Monday.
"In this case my concern is that if you give the Obama administration money, it will go everywhere and anywhere but for where its stated purpose is," Cutler said. "I don't think anybody trusts this supposedly most transparent of all administrations. Someone needs to send them some glass cleaner."
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Obama has requested $3.7 billion, and GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn said over the weekend that he expects the Republican-controlled House to offer a "skinnnied-down" emergency funding bill.
The Huffington Post reports this amount will likely be $1 billion or less.
Cutler said he'd rather have no bill than give Obama what he wants "out of my concern about what he may do with that money."
"I really don't think anybody at this point has any trust for this administration, and that mistrust has been soundly deserved when you look at everything that has happened, especially where immigration is concerned."
He also advised the administration to communicate more with state officials about where unaccompanied minors are being relocated.
According to
The Associated Press, 760 unaccompanied minors were sent to Tennessee to live with sponsors, usually a family member or friend, until deportation proceedings begin.
Tennessee has received just 2.5 percent of all the children who have been released, the AP said, with 46 percent going to Texas, New York, Florida and California.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam did not learn about his state's receiving the children until reading it on a Department of Health and Human Services website, according to an angry letter he wrote to the president.
"Not only was our state not informed prior to any of the children being brought here, I still have not been contacted and have no information about these individuals or their sponsors other than what was posted on the HHS website and subsequently reported by media," he wrote, according to
television station WREG in Memphis.
"Voices have got to be heard, and they should be reaching out to every member of Congress from those states, applying pressure to them and make it understood to them, especially, the congressional House delegation," Cutler said. "Their jobs are on the line in November, and if they don't put proper pressure on the administration, they may well pay the price on Election Day."
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