House passes tougher bill dealing with crisis on US-Mexico border; Obama condemns plan

8/1/2014

President Barack Obama smiles as he nears the conclusion of a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. The president spoke on various topics including the economy, immigration, Ukraine and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The House has approved a $694 million bill to address the crisis of unaccompanied migrant youths arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The GOP legislation passed 223-189 late Friday on a nearly party-line vote. Last-minute changes won support from conservative holdouts who had forced GOP leaders to pull the bill from the floor a day earlier.

The bill would increase spending for National Guard at the border and add immigration judges and detention facilities.

It makes policy changes so that the migrant kids could be sent home more quickly.

But with the Senate already out of session for the summer, the bill stands no chance of becoming law.

Democrats call it a sham proceeding, and President Barack Obama says he’ll have to act on his own.