Democratic politicians including Rep. Andy Kimissue statement condemning “using the US military as a political tool”
The Donald Trump administration’s plan to use a military base in southern New Jersey as an immigrant detention facility has sparked controversy. According to Rep. Herb Conaway (D, NJ 3rd District), Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth notified the administration on the 15th of a plan to set up a temporary illegal alien detention facility on the grounds of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County, New Jersey.
Secretary of Defense Hegseth said, “I am writing this letter to inform you that providing the land on this military base for the Department of Homeland Security’s temporary facility for detaining illegal immigrants will not negatively impact our military needs, such as training and operations.”
However, New Jersey Democratic politicians, including Rep. Conaway and U.S. Senator Andy Kim, immediately issued a statement condemning the use of the U.S. military as a domestic political tool.
They strongly condemned the Trump administration’s decision to use a military base in New Jersey for immigrant detention, saying, “This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and military resources.”
If an immigrant detention facility is built on this military base, New Jersey will have two new immigrant detention facilities this year alone. The Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility in Newark opened amid controversy in May.
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of illegal immigrants in New Jersey is estimated at 475,000.