[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 74 (Monday, June 12, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1113-E1114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5441) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 5441, the 
Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007. As a member 
of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, it has been an honor to work 
with Chairman Hal Rogers and with our ranking member, Martin Sabo, who 
sadly is retiring at the end of the 109th Congress. Congressman Sabo 
has served our country with honor and distinction. It has been a 
privilege to serve with him in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  Mr. Chairman, Chairman Rogers has once again been presented with an 
inadequate budget allocation. He has done his best to strengthen our 
ability to effectively respond in times of national emergency and fund 
the critical programs in the bill that protect our Nation against 
terrorist attacks and national disasters.
  Nevertheless, I am disappointed that due to the lack of funds 
resulting from hundreds of billions of dollars in Republican tax cuts 
for the very rich, the bill reduces badly needed funds for programs 
critical to our first responders' ability to efficiently and safely 
respond to a terrorist attack or national disaster. I am particularly 
concerned about cuts to grants that fund communication capability such 
as interoperability. Radio interoperability is essential for our 
police, fire, and emergency medical service departments to communicate 
with each other in times of emergency. This was demonstrated by the 
horrors in New York on 9/11 when many of the New York police and 
firefighters died because of the inability to warn each other of the 
dangers ahead. Four and a half years after 9/11 it is unconscionable 
that interoperable communications remain an unmet urgent need. It is 
also unfortunate that the Democratic amendment by Mr. Obey that would 
have added funding for port security, border security, and first-
responder equipment and training failed on a party line vote.

  I am also disappointed and greatly concerned that this bill's report 
expresses support for the expansion of the 287(g) program which allows 
State and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration 
enforcement functions. Many local law enforcement officers have stated 
that if they are required to enforce Federal immigration policies it 
would hamper their ability to successfully fight crime in their 
respective communities.
  Furthermore, I am disappointed that the report does not include a 
solution to the miscalculation of the Letters of Intent contract 
between the TSA and the Los Angeles World airports, LAWA. According to 
LAWA, TSA's contractor made errors in calculating the cost of 
installing inline baggage screening equipment at Los Angeles and 
Ontario airports. These calculating errors have resulted in a contract 
dollar amount lower than what is needed to complete the required 
equipment purchase and installation. I hope to work with the chairman 
in conference to resolve this problem.
  Despite these concerns, I thank Chairman Rogers and Congressman Sabo 
for including many of the items I requested in the Homeland Security 
report. The following report language addresses serious issues raised 
during subcommittee hearings with representatives of the Department of 
Homeland Security.

  (1) The report language addresses the need to continue the use of 
Legal Orientation Programs in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, 
detention centers around the country. Legal Orientation Programs are 
legal presentations given to persons in immigration detention, prior to 
a first hearing before an immigration judge by nongovernmental 
agencies. The presentations facilitate access to justice for detained 
immigrants in removal proceedings. The program also saves money on 
immigration detention and makes the Immigration Court more efficient.
  (2) The report recognizes the success of the Intensive Supervised 
Appearance Program, ISAP, which prevents families from being detained 
in jail. The bill includes an additional $5 million for the expansion 
of this program.
  (3) The report expresses concern regarding reports that children 
apprehended by DHS continue to be separated from their parents. The 
committee's report language encourages ICE to work with reputable 
nonprofit organizations to consider allowing family units to be placed 
in the Intensive Supervised Appearance Program. If detention is 
necessary, the report language encourages ICE to house family members 
together in nonpenal, home-like environments until the conclusion of 
their immigration proceedings.
  (4) The report includes language that expresses concerns regarding 
recent media reports of health care deficiencies at ICE detention 
facilities. The committee's report language correctly directs ICE to 
report on the activities it undertakes to ensure compliance with 
detention standards.
  (5) The report highlights concerns with the backlog at the National 
Records Center. This backlog results in few, if any, of the asylum 
applicants who requested their files through the Freedom of Information 
Act, FOIA, receiving their files in time to prepare for their 
appearance in immigration court. The report language directs 
Citizenship and Immigration Services to develop a plan to ensure that 
such requests are filled in a timely and expeditious manner.
  (6) The report expresses concern that the Department of Citizenship 
and Immigration Services has not issued regulations on the U-visa for 
immigrant victims of a crime. This visa was established 6 years ago in 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Due to the lack of 
regulations, few victims have applied because only interim relief 
exists. The report directs CIS to report on its plan for issuing U-visa 
regulations.
  (7) I was pleased that the report recognizes the important efforts of 
the Directorate of Science and Technology, S&T, to encourage 
universities to become centers of multi-disciplinary research on 
homeland security issues. An outstanding example of such a center is 
the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic 
Analysis in Los Angeles. Given the high threat of acts of terrorism to 
large cities like Los Angeles, these centers can help prioritize 
countermeasures to terrorism, by computing relative risks among 
potential terrorist events and by identifying where homeland security 
investments can be most effective.

  (8) I am also pleased that Customs and Border Protection is directed 
to report on their plans to address the increased workload at Ontario 
International Airport and to provide

[[Page E1114]]

quarterly reports to the House Committee on Appropriations and the 
House Committee on Homeland Security on international flight arrivals 
at Ontario that take customs longer than the standard 60 minutes to 
process.
  (9) The report includes language that expresses concern about reports 
that unaccompanied alien children are being detained in unacceptable 
conditions, such as jail-like facilities, and not routinely transferred 
within the required 3-5 day timeframe from DHS custody to the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement, ORR. The report directs ICE to immediately 
contact ORR upon apprehension of children and to ensure ORR gains 
custody within 72 hours.
  (10) When the age of an unaccompanied alien child is unknown, the 
report directs ICE to consider using holistic age-determination 
methodologies recommended by medical and child welfare experts. These 
methodologies recommend taking into account the child's physical 
appearance and psychological maturity, rather than relying exclusively 
on forensic evidence.
  (11) The report expresses concern about the dearth of repatriation 
services for unaccompanied alien children. These children are removed 
from the United States to face uncertain fates in their homelands. The 
report urges the Department, in close consultation with the Department 
of State and ORR, to develop policies and procedures to ensure the safe 
repatriation of these children to their country of origin including 
placement with family or a sponsoring agency.

  (12) I am very grateful that Chairman Rogers once again included 
language I drafted to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from 
moving forward with its potentially dangerous plan to privatize key 
immigration officer positions at the Bureau of Citizenship and 
Immigration Services. Officers currently filling these positions are 
responsible for handling classified information used to prevent fraud 
and exploitation of our immigration laws. I am thankful that this 
inherently governmental work will continue to remain the responsibility 
of trained and experienced Federal employees directly accountable to 
the Department and not to the bottom line of a private company.
  (13) I am pleased that the report recognizes the important work of 
Operation Archangel, located in my home city of Los Angeles. Operation 
Archangel is a national model for protecting critical infrastructure. 
The Department should continue this important program and replicate it 
throughout the country.
  Lastly, I commend Chairman Rogers for withholding funds from DHS 
until it meets its obligations to this Congress and to the American 
people. It is a tragedy that the Department of Homeland Security is so 
dysfunctional that the chairman had to take this step. I congratulate 
him for standing up for the safety of our Nation and the American 
people. As he has said on numerous occasions, those who seek to do us 
harm only have to do their job right occasionally. We have to do our 
jobs to protect America 100 percent of the time. To date, the 
Department is far from reaching that 100 percent mark.
  Mr. Chairman, I support this bill because in spite of its 
deficiencies, Chairman Rogers has done his best to effectively allocate 
the limited funds he was given to help ensure our country's safety. 
Fully addressing critical national security concerns requires resources 
that the administration simply did not propose and which the Republican 
majority did not provide in this bill. While this bill is an 
improvement over the administration's request, it nevertheless is 
lacking in fully meeting our critical homeland security needs.

                          ____________________