Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, on Monday told Semafor that Congress is "taking too long" to approve funding for detention centers and other immigration enforcement efforts.
Asked during the interview about concerns about manpower and the amount of space available for immigrants who have been detained by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homan said, "We've got to have Congress fund this operation."
He added that the administration is "hoping to get some funding through reconciliation, but … we got to hope Congress gets that done because there is a limited amount of funds, and to do more we got to buy more detention beds. We need more flights. We need more officers. We need more overtime. Bottom line is: The more money we get, the more successful we will be.
"We got a lot of people, but resources matter. We got to hire more agents. And the biggest issue I see right now is the need for more detention beds."
Homan was asked if he would support a budget plan that's spread across two pieces of legislation.
"I support any approach that gives us the money we need to do this operation," he said. "Is it taking too long? Yes, it's taking too long. I wish they would have passed it by now."