National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My amendment, Madam Chair, would prohibit any Department of Defense resources from being used to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand its detention capacity.

The fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security allows for 40,520 detention beds for ICE, which is the highest amount Congress has ever provided. Despite this historic capacity, ICE continues to exceed this detention capacity and currently has more than 52,000 migrants in detention--a record high. In fact, ICE has exceeded its detention bed capacity for multiple fiscal years in a row.

To pay for this excess, ICE has, in the past, turned to Congress for more funding or siphoned off funds from other components in DHS. In 2018, when ICE went beyond its detention bed limit, it took almost $200 million from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, and ICE criminal investigations.

ICE continually expands beyond its means and then expects to be bailed out. This cannot go on.

ICE needs to operate within its appropriated limits and make more strategic decisions about whom to detain. ICE should prioritize detaining migrants who pose a serious threat to our society as well as those who will not be deported unless they are detained.

ICE cannot be given a blank check. Madam Chair, my amendment restricts defense resources from being used for ICE detention.

We have already seen President Trump defy the will of Congress on border wall funding. When Congress refused to fund this ineffective and wasteful border wall, he decided to take money away from other departments to build his wall, and his prime funder was the Department of Defense.

Madam Chair, I hope you will join me in preventing the Department of Defense's funding from being used as President Trump's personal piggy bank to circumvent the will of Congress.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

ICE continually overspends on detention and doesn't face any consequences. Not only are they holding on to more people than ever before, they are doing so when there are alternatives to detention that have proven to be reliable and effective.

On average, it has cost $130 for ICE to detain an adult a day. One person in family detention costs $319 a day. Alternatives to detention cost less than $20 a day, and that includes services to help them understand our immigration system and show up for court hearings.

I would note that Congress recently appropriated more money for ICE to use these alternatives to detention for migrants who do not pose a threat or have criminal backgrounds.

ICE needs to operate responsibly, and that includes following a budget. The Trump administration cannot be allowed to turn to the Department of Defense every time it has a new demand.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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