Congressman McCaul Announces Legislation to Provide Substantial Funding Increase to Border Sheriffs and ICE
Video of McCaul’s border tour is available
EL PASO, TX – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) announced the introduction of two bills, designed to give federal agents and county law enforcement the proper tools to secure our border with Mexico, combat violence from drug cartels and better enforce existing immigration laws.
Rep. McCaul, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, made the announcement after briefings with DHS, ICE, ATF, the U.S. Marshal Service and the U.S. Border Patrol.
One bill would authorize increased funding to $500 million for each of FY 2010-2014 to carry out Operation Stonegarden (OPSG), which is funded at $60 million for FY’09. The grant program provides funding to county level governments along the border (both northern and southern) to prevent, protect against, and respond to border security threats. The current funding does not give sheriffs the long-term funding commitment needed to retain qualified officers and replace outdated, substandard equipment to adequately protect their communities from cartel-related crimes.
"We have a war raging along our southern border," said Rep. McCaul. "It’s time that Congress recognizes the severity of the crime in our own communities related to drug trafficking and illegal crossings, and gives the men and women charged with defending their communities the tools they've been asking for to do their jobs."
The second bill doubles funding to the Office of Detention and Removal under ICE to $5 billion in FY2010. It would allow ICE to double its staff to better secure the border and free up other agencies to focus on their responsibilities.
It would also enable ICE to add to its Detention and Removal office, which detains and deports criminal aliens, and expand its 287(g) program. This program allows local law enforcement agencies voluntary training so they may detain illegal aliens and start the deportation process. Harris County, Carrolton and Farmer's Branch are the only places in Texas currently participating.
"Right now we can’t enforce our own laws. Even when a criminal alien is slated for deportation ICE doesn’t have the resources to follow through," is what Rep. McCaul has discovered through several briefings throughout his district and hearings in Washington.
Rep. McCaul was joined by Don Reay, Executive Director of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, and El Paso Co. Sheriff Richard Wiles announcing the legislation.
As Chair of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Congressman McCaul authored the 2006 report A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border <https://www.house.gov/sites/members/tx10_mccaul/pdf/Investigaions-Border-Report.pdf>, exposing the emergence of the drug cartels and potential for violence. Also, prior to entering Congress, McCaul was Chief of Counter-terrorism at the US Attorney’s Office overseeing the Southwest Border.