SW Arkansas Times

Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a letter to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and senior White House officials, requesting information about the White House’s involvement in establishing a migrant encampment on National Park Service (NPS) land at Floyd Bennett Field. In part, the members wrote:

"Over the past year, the Committee has conducted a lengthy investigation on the administration’s decision to lease FBF as a migrant camp, a decision spanning multiple federal agencies, all of which point directly back to the involvement of the White House as key in the decision.

“On April 19, 2024, the Committee sent a letter to Mr. Perez requesting information about the role he and the White House played in leasing FBF to the City of New York (NYC) and transforming FBF into a migrant camp. The response we received was objectionable at best as it attempted to paint the administration’s immigration policies in a positive light, eschew responsibility for the border crisis, and erroneously claim that the executive agencies of the administration have been fully cooperating with the Committee’s inquiry with responsive document productions. In reality, the Committee has fought tooth and nail to squeeze minimal information from the administration. Information the Committee’s investigation uncovered solidifies the integral role the White House played in turning FBF into a migrant tent city...

"Accordingly, it is clear that despite the White House’s refusal to acknowledge its role to the Committee, the Biden-Harris White House was instrumental in transforming FBF into a migrant camp."

The Biden-Harris administration erected “temporary” migrant shelters at Floyd Bennett Field in early fall 2023 in Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City (NYC). Westerman and other Republican members traveled to this site last September and observed how park access is being denied to NYC residents due to this encampment. The committee has held multiple hearings aiming to hold accountable those responsible within Biden-Harris administration while hearing directly from impacted communities regarding this unprecedented lease agreement.

Additionally, legislative solutions such as H.R. 5283—Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure Border Act of 2023—have been pursued by committee members. This act prohibits federal funding from being used for housing illegal immigrants on any federal lands. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5283 on Nov. 29, 2023.

The committee's comprehensive investigation into FBF lease involves requests for document productions along with briefings and interviews from several federal agencies including NPS; Department of Homeland Security; Council on Environmental Quality; and White House officials On Aug. 9., Chairman Westerman issued subpoena towards DHS seeking documents related towards said lease agreement.

This letter marks next step within ongoing investigation just days before Sept.,14th—the one-year anniversary since lease agreement began using FBF as migrant encampment Republican Congress members have strongly urged both Biden-Harris Administration alongside NPS towards ending this particular lease agreement