WASHINGTON — House Republican leadership has snuck in $1.6 billion for President Trump’s border wall into a defense-funding package. A vote on the package is expected today.

Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union, said:

“House Republican leadership is afraid of putting $1.6 billion in wasteful spending on Trump’s border wall on the floor for a vote. Instead, this obscene expenditure is being bundled with defense and other unrelated funding to sneakily pass it through the House without a chance for others to amend it.

“Across the southwest, border residents and local stakeholders like mayors and sheriffs are firmly opposed to President Trump’s folly endeavor, based on economic, environmental, and humanitarian impacts. Border voices are not being consulted, much less listened to, about the wall being imposed on them. The president and House Republican leadership are sending a message that their lives are expendable.

“The wall would further Trump’s discriminatory anti-immigrant agenda and worsen Customs and Border Protection abuses in the 100-mile border zone and for immigrants seeking safety and a better life. The ACLU calls on all members of Congress to stand up for fiscal sanity and human rights by voting against this undemocratic and divisive spending bill.”