
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to the Department of Homeland Security, Military bases in both New Jersey and Indiana will soon be used to house illegal immigrants, and Democratic lawmakers are losing their sh*t over it!</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Parts of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana will be repurposed and used as &#8220;temporary soft-sided holding facilities,&#8221; the Defense Department told the press, citing a decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">New Jersey Democrats blasted the decision, warning it would harm military readiness and urging Republicans to join them in helping reverse it. Both bases were previously used to house thousands of Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;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,&#8221; the group of Democrats said in a joint statement.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;Using our country&#8217;s military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community. We have the greatest military in the world, and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The statement was made by Reps. Herb Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer, and Nellie Pou, as well as Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is unclear when either site will open, and a decision will depend on operational requirements and coordination with Homeland Security, the Defense Department said.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is a joint military base operated by the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy — the only tri-service base in the country. Spanning 42,00 acres, it&#8217;s home to 45,000 military and civilian personnel, making it one of the largest and most strategically important on the East Coast.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Camp Atterbury is an Army and Air National Guard base near Edinburgh that spans 34,000â¯acres and has been used for training brigades and hosting large-scale operations. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Under the Trump administration, Homeland Security has been using detention facilities to house migrants while they await asylum hearings or deportation. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to local NJ newspapers, Hegseth wrote in the letter to state officials that the move would not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or any other military requirements.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The news comes two weeks after President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law, which allocated between $150â¯billion and $170â¯billion towards immigration enforcement over the next several years, $45 billion of which was carved out to expand immigration detention facilities. The funds are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Earlier this month, the Trump administration opened an immigration detention camp in Florida’s Everglades that is surrounded by alligators dubbed &#8220;Alligator Alcatraz.&#8221;</p>

Democrats are losing it Over New Plans to House Migrants
