The disaster that is occurring at the border right now and if we could quick put up our chart. Not only to have it on the chart but we had an event in oshkosh over against the required a giveaway so i produced out of my factory cups with that chart but it shows how out of control this problem is. The first seven months of this year we have over 300 total 312,000 individuals over the border illegally and apprehended as unaccompanied child or family unit and i know these are not for public release yet so their initial numbers but in the first three months of may another 65000 unaccompanied children but primarily people coming in his family units and were apprehended at the border between the ports of reentry and over 97000 total apprehensions so were on path for breaking again i guess it was march 10, 3000, april 10, 9000 and now it will be beyond that in may so this is a growing problem. Needs to be taken seriously and its what you and the men and women that you lead are grappling with. God bless you for doing it. I mean that in all sincerity. I know because ive been in the border and ive been there with the Ranking Member and other senators later today and we know what youre having to deal with. Its an impossible task. I appreciate your dedication and willingness to serve them with that i turn it over to the Ranking Member. Thank you, mr. Chairman and acting secretary we appreciate you being here today. I will defer on any of my opening comments because our time is limited and numbers have a meeting coming up and i know youre on a hot stuff as well. Members of this Committee Want to ask questions so i will ask unanimous consent to put my Opening Statement in the record mac without objection. I asked the same request. That sounds good. Turn it over to you. Mr. Secretary, does the attrition of his many choose where and when is it so if you will stand and raise right hand. Do you swear the testimony will give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so hope you got. Please be seated. The honorable Kevin Mcaleenan and his acting secretary for the formidable insecurity and has been serving in this position since april 2019 prior to this appointment he had the distinguished career at the customs and Border Protection where he recently served as commissioner of cbp generate 2017. In 2015 mr. Maclaine and received the president ial rank award and ages highest Civil Service and for the bachelor degree from Amherst College and a jd from the university of chicago law school. Mr. Tackling and. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Distinguished members of the committee its important and i appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. Its a sincere honor to serve as acting secretary and river that the dedicated men and women of the department of Homeland Security. I do believe that the dhs has the most Compelling Mission in government to safeguard the working people, our homeland and our values. As acting secretary i intend to work with this committee and have been in the last six weeks as an advocate to ensure that our people have the resources and authorities they need to carry out their Critical Mission on behalf of the American People. As we highlight the president 2020 budget want to point out a few key areas where this critical investment that cost dhs in the multi missions we carry out. I want to ensure this committee will not lose momentum on our multiple missions from Cyber Security and Disaster Response as receipt was happening with the floods in oklahoma and tornado touched down in missouri that we will stay on top of all these missions and i want to highlight investments there. Of course i will speak to the security crisis at the border which this committee is focused on and understands well the president s budget request funding for Critical Missions across the apartment. From Cyber Security and if researcher Security Agency the budget request 1. 3 billion to assess but evolving protect the rest, and critical in researcher. It also supports the want of products 2020 the new initiative designed to give allstate to a base level of election infrastructure well before the National Election of 2020. The budget supports additional transportation Security Officers to enhance Security Effectiveness and stay ahead of increasing costs and growing traffic at airports nationwide. The 3. 3 billion for tsa will also include money for an additional 700 screeners and 350 computed tomography units. For fema this budget provides a significant increase in the Disaster Relief fund and begins a limitation of a new requirement in Disaster Recovery format and funds critical operation positions identified in the 2017 hurricane system action report. U. S. Coast guard this budget continues efforts to run the offshore patrol cutter and enhance the polish Security Partner program. With regard to Border Security and Immigration Enforcement as you are well aware where the midst of an ongoing security and humanitarian crisis at the southwest border. I think your chart but that in stark context in stark relief, mr. Chairman. The most 110,000 migrants attempted to cross without legal status last month, the most in over one decade and over 65 were highly families with unaccompanied children or beer 40000 children entered our immigration system in a single month. The president s budget will help address this for 2020. It request 523 land for the community in crisis and this money will allow better care for those we come into contact with with apprehension in the custody, detention and removal. Second, to adjust the Border Security aspect of the crisis request 5 billion in funding for construction for a proximally 20 miles at the new portable system and a proven deterrent requested by our frontline agents and calls for 750 Border Patrol agents, 273 cbp officers in over 660 ice frontline and personal. The budget request will make the most needed upgrades to sensors control systems and aircraft help our men and women combat criminals who are profiting from human suffering. All our 2020 budget will help address this crisis will need additional funding much sooner. Given the scale of what we are facing we exhaust our resources before the end of this fiscal year which is why demonstration that a supplemental funding request over three weeks ago but in addition to the 3 million in our quest for helping Services Care for on the Company Children request includes 1. 1 billion for the formidable insecurity and provide 391 million for humanitarian assistance quitting temporary market facilities in the southwest border and 530 million for Border Operations to include our personal expenses and increase transportation in detention costs. At 178 million for operations and support costs including pay over Pay Incentives or operational personnel as well as upgrading our it systems. Supplemental request is critical for s addresses the factors may need vulnerable Legal Framework children will continue to be put at risk during a dangerous journey to our border. Without these authorities and resources the situation will remain untenable and what dhs will continue to do all he can to manage the crisis in operation effective, humane, safe manner every day, is the fact that more lives at risk and increases the burden on the system. Mr. Chairman, mr. Ranking member ive been doing this a long time but its the third time ive been in a leadership role during the migration served at the border. Both in 2014 and 2015 at the last administration we have more than doubled those crises combined in the first seven months of this year and still in the middle of that effort. We will do everything we can to address it. The border again today on the medical front we have about ten people providing medical care in our top Processing Center a year ago and we now have 50 in that center alone. Twentyfour by seven coverage in all of our highest traffic coverage. U. S. Medical teams on the ground, Human Services with help Service Commissioned Corps on the ground and working to protect children that come into our custody. It expanded facilities and put up a thousand spaces in two locations and 10000 by the end of next month to address this growing crisis but weve got tremendous support from the apartment of defense, National Guard, state and local partners and working closely with nongovernmental organizations and charities to try to help those in need. None of that will be enough. We are still seeing too much tragedy in this week and month and theres been no exception. 40 of our agents are off the line doing processing transportation care, has to watch and beating and cleaning migrants in our custody. This leaves significant security risks that i dont think we can tolerate given the drug academic and the dangers to our communities across the country. My second week in this job i went to see the 911 Memorial Museum to get reinspired at the origin of the department of Homeland Security and a good reminder from insecurity when we start was nonpartisan in a nonpartisan that all americans supported and i know this Committee Works in that spirit. We became experts on this and for your efforts to go to the border i know youre going again but this is a unique approach to grapple with the problem based on the baird shared set of facts. I want to work with you and both parties frontline agents and officers needed and deserved that support in this committee. The children being for the risk insecurity of our border and the future of our region depend on it. Appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today a report to the dialogue this morning. Thank you, mr. Secretary. Im happy for my questioning to you or senator apartment to keep things moving. Did you want to ask her questions now can. Guess. Go ahead. Thank you, commissioner for your comments. I know you mentioned in your opening comments challenge in particular you are having along the border. The last evening it was reported that a young girl from el salvador died last year while in custody but her death was undisclosed publicly until last night. It made her now the sixth migrant child to die after crossing the southern border in less than one year. We all agreed we must absolutely secure our borders but the death of children and i dont you agree with this the death of children in our custody is unacceptable but first we must identify what went wrong and ensure this does not happen again. Brief questions. Yes or no. Does every child in cbp have access to a pediatrician . No. Does the cbp have clear protocols regarding the transfer of children to hospital when presented with acute symptoms especially when we look at the aggressive nature of this current flu outbreak we are seeing along the border . Yes, as commissioner i direct that all children can come into our custody you be screened by a certified medical professional and thats what weve undertaken steps to compass, both with our contract to get medical professionals into our facilities as well as partnering with u. S. Coast guard and the public commissioned corps and that effort is extensive and ongoing with five people be brought to the hospital every day watched and supported by agents and officers. This is a massive effort going on at the border to protect children. I know we save dozens of lives over the past several months. Theres been cases of a 16 yearold that passed away who is not taken to the hospital so they are obviously gaps that have to be filled back he was both screened and offered medical care and we look forward to see what the findings are and if we can do better. One key area that i need to highlight the fact that hhs does not have enough funding orbit space for teenage males and that is the unaccompanied child right now so were not able to move teenage males mailed expeditiously to the better situation for care within health and Human Services and we need that support from congress in supplemental. Have asked many of your colleagues in prior dhs leadership and i will ask you again today how long is too lo long . Detention for a child is for the safety of the child. Thats the only reason to do it. We dont believe children should be detained very long at all and we like to move them as swiftly as possible to health and Human Services to a more appropriate setting for a good many children where they can be placed as an appropriate sponsor hhs processes and i think that the best approach. I like to get that 24 hours and try to comply at all times with the standard which is 72 hours. I get the sense you think any time is too long to detain a. And unaccompanied child. A child arrives of the. We should be able to have an appropriate setting with access to educational, recreational space and medical care in a courtroom where we can finish immigration proceeding upon arrival at the border and not finishing that as quickly as possible. No desire to detain children in any capacity for very long at all. Its been reported dhs is acquiring fema, tsa and other components to contribute staff to various Border Security information and securing our northern and southern borders must be our top priority. We have a northern border in this country as well and im concerned the potential impact on readiness in my state of michigan as well as northern border states. My time is short but could you give me a brief synopsis of these duties these folks are asked to be doing on the southern border . As in any crisis we do call on volunteers from across dhs to respond. Last year during the Hurricane Harvey or irma we had two dozen people deployed across the department at any given time in right now about 250 volunteers deploy. Ive asked all of our leaders to make Risk Assessment and carefully decide whos available to support this crisis but they are doing all kinds of duties from attorneys to commercial drivers license and to folks simply helping with food service and care of people in our custody. A variety of missions and were very fortunate to have volunteers only to help out in a crisis. Shortage of personnel is an issue for you and even before the recent increase in migrant traffic in the southern border it was clear the cbp not adequately staffed to secure our borders and facilitate the other mission which is to move legitimate trade and travel at our ports of entry. Cbp workload staffing model developed under your leadership as the cvb commissioner to devise a shortfall of thousands officials. This is prior to the Current Situation and to help address this gap in personal senator cornyn i have introduced bipartisan and hes joined as well to give Clear Authority and direction to hire muchneeded ebp officers to the levels identified in the model that you put together especially considering critical personnel to michigan to the southern border of michigan continues to maintain two of the three busiest Border Crossings in the nation. Acting secretary, will you commit to working with congress to advance this legislation and close the hiring gaps that we currently have with cbp officers . I will, senator. I appreciate your support to additional hiring as is one of the most critical occupations both for security and for facilitating trade and travel. We netted 2000 officers over the last five years with congress support and we expect to net over 1200 additional officers hiring it successful for cbp officers based on a number of changes to be made with support from congress but i do think a model based staffing that accommodates growing traffic and growing security threats and appropriate way to plan for the future and i appreciate the leverage laid him efforts. I appreciate your support to get this legislation passed and signed into law to support your efforts with i have remaining time but i will defer to make sure everyone has a chance to ask questions and most date strict to our seven minute time line. We talk about hiring rates. Is it true we have greater hiring than attrition rate right now . For cbp officers is significantly attrition for Border Patrol agents is much closer to attrition although we make progress covering. Thats good news. Im highly concerned with the Current Crisis until we can keep the resources and require these volunteers Border Patrol officers will start putting and im highly concerned about the attrition rates. We see an uptick on this in the recent crisis . Our attrition is higher than wed like for Border Patrol agents. My first decision as acting secretary was to extend the 5 retention incentive to our agents who deserve it and working incredibly hard at the journeyman level. We need to continue to look at always to maintain our tremendous professional workforce and i think they need to see a light at the end of the tunnel for this crisis and working with partners to solve it legislatively is our best approach. I want to urge my colleagues to support the emergency supplemental critical that you get that funny, not just for hhs but what dhs is resti