Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2012
Floor Speech
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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, my amendment will increase spending by $50 million for Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine operations. It will include funding for at least 2 UAV systems, as well as much needed helicopters and marine vessels to assist CBP operations along the border.
This amendment will provide the resources to increase the number of flight crews, training, and ground operations needed to support the mounting requests for aerial surveillance missions and boat crews to patrol the rivers and lakes along our border.
CBP air marine support supplements our agents on the ground, allowing CBP to deploy fewer agents in a specific area. CBP air marine currently operates 7 UAVs and intends to grow the fleet to a total of 18 to 24 by 2016.
I have seen the benefits of these missions personally, along with my good friend and colleague from the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. Cuellar, to whom I yield at this time.
Mr. CUELLAR. I want to thank my good friend from Texas. I also want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for everything they have done for border security. We really appreciate it.
We just feel that we ought to put a little bit of money to have the OM and, of course, the UAVs. We have gone down to Corpus. We have been there with General Kostelnik, who I think is doing a great job.
What they do is provide ICE, in the sky, flying at 19,000 feet, they can see what is happening, and it provides the intelligence to the State, Federal and local. It is certainly something I support.
I want to thank again my friend, Mr. McCaul, for the work that you have done on this particular amendment.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, this amendment will increase funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the salaries and expenses in order to increase the number of Border Enforcement Security Task Force teams.
I, along with Mr. Cuellar, have been down to the border and seen the direct benefits of the BEST teams in terms of interdicting the southbound flow of cash and weapons. It's my sincere hope that with additional resources we could stop the flow of weapons going south into Mexico, but also seize the cash and asset forfeiture money that could then, in turn, help pay for our border security operations.
With that, I yield to my good friend from Texas.
Mr. CUELLAR. Again, I want to thank my colleague from Texas. And again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for all the work that they have done for border security.
The BEST program is the program that works. Basically what it does is it coordinates State, Federal, local and also our international partners, both Canadians and Mexicans, to work together to make sure that they are able to focus on the same thing, and that is fight transnational crime. It's an idea that worked very well--in fact, it got started in Laredo, Texas. It expanded now to both the northern and southern part of the United States.
And I certainly support my friend to make sure that we work and make sure that the BEST program gets stronger.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, this amendment will increase funding by $10 million for border security fencing, infrastructure and technology. Secretary Napolitano's cancellation of the Secure Border Initiative delays the deployment of technology to secure the border.
Mr. ADERHOLT. I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.
The CHAIR. The gentleman's reservation is not timely.
The gentleman from Texas has been recognized for 5 minutes in support of his amendment.
Mr. McCAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The backbone of the new proposed system, integrated fixed towers, will not be in place until January 2013. In place of SBInet, a new border surveillance technology plan has been developed that abandons the fixed sensor tower nature of the original SBInet plan and replaces it with multiple technologies. As a result, the new plan consists of a reduced number of sensor towers envisioned in the SBInet plan, and in their place, lower cost technologies such as mounted radar and camera systems, portable and imaging systems, and thermal imaging devices.
The Secretary said that technology will not be deployed to cover the entire southern border until the year 2025. I believe that is unacceptable. This amendment provides funding for readily available technology that we can deploy quickly to secure the border before that timeframe.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time, Mr. Chairman.
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Mr. McCAUL. This amendment will increase funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Detention and Removal. While the underlying bill does increase funding by $26 million, we need more.
DRO is the primary enforcement arm within ICE for the identification, apprehension and removal of illegal aliens from the United States. DRO is severely underresourced. It is overwhelmed and does not have the resources to do its job. ICE has stated repeatedly that they simply don't have the manpower and resources to deport illegal aliens, even criminal aliens identified through the 287(g) program. The Federal Government has its responsibility, and it needs to step up to the plate.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. McCAUL. This amendment will nearly triple the amount of funding for the popular 287(g) program, which authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to permit specially trained State and local law enforcement officers to apprehend, investigate or detain aliens during a predetermined time frame and under Federal supervision by ICE.
It is an important force multiplier for ICE in allowing for enhanced capabilities to detain and remove illegal aliens identified by local law enforcement during the course of their duties.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
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