Fontana church housing undocumented immigrants

FONTANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Fontana church is temporarily housing 46 undocumented immigrants, mostly children from Central America. A Homeland Security Department bus carrying those undocumented immigrants recently arrived at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fontana. The church held a donation drive where local residents provided food, water and clothing.

Amber Munoz donated some of her clothes. "Instead of it being at home, I wanted to put it to better use," she said.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, John Andrews, said the church is working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on this project.

"We will be helping them connect with loved ones here in the United States that they are here to be with," said Andrews. "As a church, we view this as a humanitarian crisis that goes beyond the politics of immigration."

Andrews said the church may house additional undocumented immigrants if needed.

The Fontana Police Department's public information officer Martha Guzman said that Fontana "has no direct control over the policies of ICE or the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino. The city of Fontana will continue to monitor the situation for code and public safety issues that may arise."

Meanwhile, Congress continues to debate President Obama's nearly $4 billion proposal to deal with the border crisis.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson appeared before a Senate committee to ask for the funds.

"Members of this committee, doing nothing is not an option. At our current burn rate within the Department of Homeland Security, ICE will run out of money by mid-August," said Johnson. "The number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border could reach up to 90,000 by the end of fiscal year 2014."

House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said a vote is personal for her: "When it comes to children, from my standpoint, I'm like a lioness. Don't mess with the children, OK?"

House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans will not write President Obama a "blank check." He's not prepared to call a vote on the president's proposal in the House.

"Our priorities are clear: Take care of these children, return them safely to their home countries, to their families, and secure the border," Boehner said. "This is a problem of the president's own making. He's been president for five and a half years. When is he going to take responsibility for something?"

President Obama was heckled by two undocumented immigrants during a speech in Austin, Texas about the economy. After the speech, the president called the two hecklers backstage for a brief meeting about the issue.

"We knew nothing is likely going to pass in Congress," said one of the hecklers. "We want him to step up and show that leadership."