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President Barack Obama has asked Congress for increased powers to quickly send unaccompanied children from Central America back home after they cross illegally into the U.S. — a move that would undo some of the protections offered to minors under George W. Bush.

Obama is also asking Congress for emergency money that would, among other things, help conduct “an aggressive deterrence strategy focused on the removal and repatriation of recent border crossers.”

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He will seek more than $2 billion in funding after lawmakers return next week from recess, a White House official said yesterday. That represents an increase of $400 million from plans the administration announced earlier this month.

The Border Patrol in South Texas has been overwhelmed for several months by an influx of unaccompanied children and parents travelling with young children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Unlike Mexican immigrants arrested after entering the U.S. illegally, those from Central America cannot be as easily returned to their countries. Obama is seeking authority to act more quickly.