The Trump administration is planning to make use of a New Jersey navy base to deal with immigrant detainees in a transfer that’s drawing ire from Democratic Backyard State lawmakers.
Parts of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County shall be used as “temporary soft-sided holding facilities,” the Division of Protection informed Fox Information.
Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth stated that the housing of unlawful aliens “is not going to negatively have an effect on navy coaching, operations readiness, or different navy necessities, in keeping with a letter addressed to Democratic Consultant Herb Conway.
The choice was blasted by nationwide lawmakers from New Jersey who issued a joint assertion excoriating the Trump administration for its alleged unfastened use of navy assets.
“This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and militarizes a radical immigration policy that has resulted in the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants and unlawful deportation of U.S. citizens, including children, across the country,” the joint assertion learn.
“Using our country’s military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community,” the assertion stated.
“We have the greatest military in the world and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful.”
The assertion was signed by Reps. Conway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer and Nellie Pou in addition to Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim — all of whom are Democrats.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth additionally introduced that elements of Indiana’s Camp Atterbury shall be transformed into migrant services.
It’s unclear when the 2 websites shall be up and working, Fox Information reported citing the Protection Division.
Uproar over migrant housing within the Backyard State hit a crescendo earlier this 12 months when raucous protests at Newark’s Delaney Corridor resulted in federal fees in opposition to Rep. LaMonica McIver.
The rep pleaded not responsible to federal fees of assault and impeding and interfering with regulation enforcement final month.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst spans 42,000 acres, is dwelling to 45,000 navy and civilian personnel, and is without doubt one of the solely bases within the nation to be operated by the US Air Power, Military, and Navy.
The bottom was beforehand used to deal with hundreds of Afghan refugees following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
