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Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

Date: June 24, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending Immigration


DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - June 24, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. I thank and congratulate Chairman Price for his hard work on this legislation. My colleague, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, and I would like to engage the chairman in a colloquy for the purpose of highlighting the funding for alternatives to detention in H.R. 2892.

Over the last decade, the United States has spent billions of dollars in the detention of hundreds of thousands of mostly noncriminal immigrants and asylum seekers. There are, however, viable alternatives to our current detention system, and they are generally more affordable and humane than detention itself.

It is not surprising that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, has also recognized the need for alternatives to detention, such as the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) and the Enhanced Supervision and Reporting Program, which includes electronic monitoring. The Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010 funds these smarter and less expensive means of enforcing our immigration laws, allocating $74 million to expand alternatives to detention programs nationally.

I yield to Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.

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