Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the agency responsible for removing immigrants who are in the country illegally will run out of money by mid-August if lawmakers don't approve a $3.7 billion emergency budget request.
Additionally, Johnson says Customs and Border Protection, whose agents are responsible for arresting illegal border crossers, will be out of money by mid-September at the "current burn rate" as the agencies deal with a flood of children and families, mostly from Central America, streaming across the U.S. border with Mexico.
Johnson described the dire budget picture during a hearing Thursday before the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said the Homeland Security Department "would need to divert significant funds from other critical programs just to maintain operations" if President Barack Obama's emergency spending request isn't approved.