Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Homeland Security agency charged with removing immigrants who are in the country illegally, will run out of funding by mid-August unless Congress approves President Obama’s emergency request for $3.7  billion to help deal with a flood of underage immigrants crossing the border without their parents, says Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

At the “current burn rate,” Customs and Border Protection will run out of money as well by mid-September, Johnson adds. If the money runs out, he says the department will need to divert funds from other critical programs to maintain operations, The Associated Press reports.

Johnson also said that “discretion” to be able to more swiftly return Central American children to their home countries would help Homeland Security curb the flow of minors, the article says.