IMMIGRATION

the brunt of the burden to balance the budget.

“Many of these programs need reform, and the goal of reducing public debt is laudable,” said G. William Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “But there is a level of unfairness in the president’s budget proposal that would be devastating to low-income families and states struggling to provide critical public services.”

During the campaign, Trump pledged not to touch Medicare or Social Security. Those programs — along with Medicaid — are the largest drivers of federal spending growth. Trump also said he would not cut Medicaid.

But Mulvaney has acknowledged that the House health care bill, which the president supports, would do that. The proposed cuts to safety-net programs, Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said, “betrays many voters who placed their trust in him.”

Here’s how Trump’s budget would affect key areas: The budget follows through on Trump’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration by building a wall along the southwest border with Mexico and strengthening immigration enforcement throughout the country.

The Department of Homeland Security would get $44.1 billion. That includes increases of $1.7 billion to catch, imprison and deport undocumented immigrants; $300 million to hire 1,500