mr. chairman , let me acknowledge the full committee and the members of the appropriate subcommittee dealing with homeland security and , as well , the full committee chairman 's just recent statement on this issue . 
but mr. chairman , i would hope that if a point of order is in order , i would hope that that point of order could be waived . 
and let me share with you why . 
this amendment is a very narrow amendment , very limited in its request . 
but it is documented and based upon testimony given by the very principals who are entrusted with the responsibility of homeland security . 
former outgoing dhs deputy secretary james loy indicated that in testimony to the house appropriations subcommittee on homeland security , that ice , the immigration , customs and enforcement , needed an additional 300 million in order to finish the fiscal year 2004 . 
this is an emergency . 
officer callahan came before the judiciary committee just a few days ago on march 10 and indicated that in 5 days we might see the closing of the operations of ice . 
that is the internal enforcement agency that deals with protecting the homeland internally . 
now , i have stood on the floor of this house over and over again , and i have said that immigration does not equate to terrorism . 
there are hard working individuals who are undocumented in this country who clearly have come here for economic reasons . 
but we also know that coming across the southern border there are what we call otms , other than mexicans , and they come across the border . 
they are not detained . 
they are given a document to retain to come back to court for a court date , and they are released on their own recognizance . 
and do you realize that many of them , some who are coming from countries that have terrorist activities and attitudes toward the united states , and they are able to come up through the southern border , cross into the united states with absolutely no punitive measures whatsoever . 
why ? 
because we are shortened at the border and we are shortened in terms of immigration enforcement inside the country , and there are no detention beds . 
and so i rise today to be able to submit an amendment to ask for $ 40 million , that is all , to be able to carry this entity for a few more days and to be able to respond to the need for more immigration , customs and enforcement officers . 
immigration enforcement agent randy callahan testified on ice 's financial difficulties , and i realize that there is still a need to be able to fix the financial problems at ice . 
but fixing the financial problems , which i understand the agency is proceeding under the new secretary of homeland security , does not in any way give reason to deny extra funds for an organization that is entrusted with the security of this nation . 
we can find common ground on security and immigration . 
this happens to be one , to provide the resources for this agency in order for it to avoid closing its doors . 
his description of the problems ice is having financially confirm the concern that i have had for some time . 
we do not have enough officers . 
we do not have enough training , and certainly we do not have enough staff in order to do their job . 
training programs have been postponed . 
they have halted training for approximately 2000 former detention enforcement officers who are reclassified and combined with the immigration agent position called immigration enforcement agent . 
do you realize , mr. chairman , that these officers are still carrying the old ids and old id cards and old badges ? 
why ? 
because we do not have enough money to give them new badges and new cards . 
can we not include them in this emergency supplemental ? 
this is an emergency . 
you have officers who are carrying incorrect identification and officers who have not been trained who have been transferred into homeland security who are now supposed to be immigration , customs enforcement officers . 
tragically , one of our officers lost his life in the atlanta courthouse killings , a man who had served for a good number of years . 
we owe officers who are willing to put their life on the line , no matter what way they have lost it , to be able to provide them with the resources necessary . 
ice has approximately 900 agents who have not yet been trained . 
without this training , ice can not use these officers for any type of law enforcement function except transportation officer and possibly some computer work . 
and as i said to you , they have no badges , and they have no id cards . 
there is no money for uniforms , so un-uniformed immigration enforcement agents are not able to order replacement uniforms . 
in fact , the uniforms being used nationwide right now still have immigration naturalization service patches on them despite the fact that the ins no longer exists . 
lack of funds appears to be causing detention facilities problems in san diego , california and other places . 
let me just simply say we have the documentation , mr. chairman . 
i rise to ask my colleagues to support this amendment to ice , and i also will add that i support the palestinian money and the sudan money . 
but i hope that we will know that we have to secure the homeland by providing extra dollars to respond to the needs of our own staff here in the department of homeland security . 
mr. chairman , as the ranking member of the subcommittee on immigration , border security , and claims , i have learned of a budget crisis in the homeland security department 's bureau of immigration and customs enforcement , ice . 
at a hearing last week on interior immigration enforcement resources , immigration enforcement agent randy callahan testified on ice 's financial difficulties . 
his description of the problems ice is having financially confirms the concern i have had for some time now . 
for instance , training programs have been postponed . 
this has halted training for approximately 2 , 000 former detention enforcement officers who were reclassified and combined with immigration agent into a position called , `` immigration enforcement agent , '' iea . 
ice has approximately 900 agents who have not been trained yet . 
without this training , ice can not use these officers for any type of law enforcement function , except transportation officer and possibly some computer work . 
there is no money for uniforms , so uniformed immigration enforcement agents are not able to order replacement uniforms . 
in fact , the uniforms being used nationwide right now still have immigration and naturalization service , ins , patches on them despite the fact that ins no longer exists . 
lack of funds appears to be causing a detention facility in san diego , ca , to release detainees from custody . 
apparently , ice management told its employees that the office had to reduce its adult detentions from several hundred to around 100 . 
additional funding is needed nationwide to maintain the approximately 17 , 000 detention beds currently in use . 
ice 's financial problems have resulted in a hiring freeze since last march and severe spending restrictions . 
in september , ice ordered its offices to refrain from nonessential spending such as travel , temporary duty assignments , equipment and supply purchases , and permanent change-of-station moves . 
ice is a bureau in financial crisis . 
they do not have enough money to hold people in custody , buy new uniforms and equipment for employees , or even issue badges and credentials with the correct department on them . 
emergency funds are essential to correct this problem . 
former dhs deputy secretary james loy said recently that ice needs $ 280 million to finish out the year . 
it is not feasible to address that entire need with the emergency supplemental , h.r. 1268 . 
my amendment , therefore , just seeks $ 40 million , which can be offset in the coast guard allotment . 
for the reasons stated above , mr. chairman , i ask that my colleagues accept the jackson-lee amendment to fund the immigration and customs enforcement needs . 
it is a shame that this amendment could not get a waiver of the point of order for the crisis in our department of homeland security . 
