The House passed legislation Thursday to block the use of federal lands, including national parks, for housing immigrants who illegally crossed the southern border.
A bill introduced by New York City Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) passed 224-203 to reel in the federal government's response to a border crisis that has resulted in more than 2 million immigrants being allowed to remain in the country pending removal proceedings.
MEGYN KELLY INTENDS TO THROW 'FASTBALLS' AT RNC DEBATE: 'NOT THERE TO MAKE FRIENDS'
"My bill to STOP Biden-Hochul-Adams from housing migrants in our federal parks has just passed the House with bipartisan support! Now it’s your turn Senator Schumer—do the right thing!" Malltiotakis said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, immediately following passage.
Malliotakis, a Republican who represents the borough of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, introduced HR 5283 following New York City's calls for Washington to make federal land available to house its burgeoning immigrant population. The bill would rescind a federal contract for a site in Brooklyn where up to 2,000 immigrants can sleep in a communal tent space.
Since the spring of 2022, more than 130,000 immigrants from the southern border have sought assistance, including shelter, food, clothing, and work, from New York City. Of that, less than 20%, or 23,800 people, took free buses to NYC that were provided by the state of Texas under Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-TX) effort to bring the border crisis to blue cities, according to November state data.
The Biden administration identified 11 federal sites across New York where the city could house immigrants, including Floyd Bennett Field. The city chose in August to move forward with using the former naval air station site that is now National Park Service green space on the southeast shore by John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“Floyd Bennett Field is an emergency option,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said. “We’re at capacity of 65,000 people being housed right now.”
Malliotakis and local lawmakers sued Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams in September for violating state and federal laws by selecting federal property for housing. The lawsuit has since been pulled up from state court to the federal court in New York's Eastern District.
But in Brooklyn, the tent site is already up and running. The only problem is that immigrants have described the 2,000-person tent camp as such deplorable conditions that they were choosing to walk out and search for a better option.
Roughly 100 immigrants were expected to move into the tent camp starting in mid-November, but shortly after some arrived and spoke with officials on the scene, they decided to leave, according to the New York Post.
The remote location of the Bennet Field House has been a top concern for local and state lawmakers, in part for its susceptibility to flooding and winds, lack of indoor toilets and showers, cold temperatures inside the tents, four-mile distance to the closest train station, and even failing score for being located too far from fire hydrants.
“We have a facility. It’s met safety standards. It’s not ideal for anyone, but on the other hand, when you don’t have a larger shelter system, we have to go with this as an option,” Hochul admitted.
NYC has spent $1.45 billion on housing and caring for immigrants in fiscal 2023 alone, including $100 million that Congress gave the city this year to cover associated costs.
"Without policy changes, NYC could potentially spend $12 billion on asylum seekers over next three fiscal years," states the New York City Hall website.
Malliotakis said the housing crisis will never end because immigrants continue to cross the border and head to New York City, where Adams "chose to misinterpret" the city's right to shelter law as being relevant to all, including non-U.S. citizens, as well as NYC residents.
The bill's passage will turn up the pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to act.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
"We'll see if Schumer brings it up for a vote in the Senate," Malliotakis said during a phone call Wednesday afternoon. "For someone who advocates for democracy, he never lets it take place. ... Sen. Schumer will do nothing to address [it]. He won't even acknowledge we have a crisis — and so holding him accountable in his own borough of Brooklyn if he doesn't let this bill come to the floor for a vote."
The White House put out a statement strongly opposing the bill but short of promising to veto it should it make it to a Senate vote.