House Republicans, led by Texas Rep. Chip Roy, sent a letter Wednesday to Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding that Congress fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and address immigration loopholes prior to the August recess.
Congress will soon be out of session for a month, and the letter signees say Pelosi has not given lawmakers the opportunity to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through regular order. Border agents, they noted, have already detained more individuals this year than all of 2014 under the Obama administration, “but funding for ICE has stayed largely the same.”
“We are united in our belief that the House of Representatives should not adjourn for August recess before providing adequate funding to our men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the letter reads. “Additionally, we must address the largest barriers to regaining operational control of the border – family detention and the Flores agreement.”
The Flores agreement prevents children and family units from being held in detention for longer than 20 days. Because it is difficult for border officials to process people in such a short time frame, many family units are released into the interior of the U.S. (RELATED: ‘Unlike Anything We’ve Seen’: DHS Chief Asks Congress For Help With Border Crisis)
While Congress voted last month on an emergency supplemental funding bill for DHS, the bill did not contain money for additional beds, providing only partial alleviation for the overcrowding in detention facilities.
“Leaving town for a month to campaign and parade our ‘accomplishments’ in Congress is an insult to the American people, the law enforcement that protects them, and the migrants suffering at the hands of dangerous cartels who are abusing our immigration laws for profit,” the letter says.
July 24 Letter to Pelosi by The Daily Caller on Scribd
“Nancy Pelosi has lost control of the House to a far-Left group of freshman lawmakers who have become the four speakers,” a GOP aide told the Daily Caller. “This is her chance to show the American people, who stand with the men and women of ICE, that she can rebuke the progressive caucus, stand with law enforcement, and do her basic constitutional duty to shore up American sovereignty.”
The letter is signed by the following members:
Chip Roy, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Ralph Norman, John Ratcliffe, Mo Brooks, Jodey Arrington, Dan Crenshaw, Bill Flores, Warren Davidson, Debbie Lesko, Andy Biggs, Michael Cloud, Scott Perry, David Schweikert, Ron Wright, Ted Yoho, Paul Gosar, Steve King, Kevin Hern, Jeff Duncan, Brian Babin, Jody Hice, Louie Gohmert, Scott DesJarlais, Andy Harris, Alex Mooney, Gregory Steube, Ted Budd, Bradley Byrne, Randy Weber, Dan Meuser, Van Taylor
This piece has been updated to reflect final signatories.