In an Oct. 18 hearing, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing focusing on how illegal immigration affects the U.S. National Parks. The hearing allowed committee members to learn how immigration is affecting national parks, and what can be done to protect those spaces.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing on Oct. 18 to discuss the effects of illegal immigration on the environment and federal lands along the southern border. Subcommittee chair Paul Gosar, (R-Ariz.) had this to say about the issue, following the announcement that President Joe Biden seeks to house immigrants at Floyd Bennett Field, in South Brooklyn, New York. "Joe Biden has welcomed into our country over eight million lawbreakers, including hundreds of terrorists, since taking office. National parks throughout the country are now under consideration by the Biden regime to serve as future camps for thousands of illegal aliens. If implemented, our beautiful recreation areas will soon be overrun with trash, drugs, and crime. Biden’s disastrous open border policies are ruining American communities and trashing our lands."
Panelists in the meeting included Michael Reynolds, Deputy Director of the National Park Service, Lt. John Nores, Jr (ret.), who oversees special operations of the Marijuana Enforcement Team of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Version M. Jose, Chair of the Tohono O’odham Nation in Sells, Ariz.
In late September, the City of New York announced that Floyd Bennett Field would become the first federal site to house migrants, according to a NY1 announcement. There would be up to 2,000 migrants in the location, and the lease goes for a year, with $1.7 million per month rent. NY1 reports that “Under the terms of the lease, the city, who will be reimbursed by the state, will pay the first three months up front, and the city will be able to use 30 acres of land at the location. The total cost of the agreement is over $20.8 million.”
This issue of migrants being housed in federal sites was also the focus of a hearing by the House Homeland Security Committee in mid-September. The committee examined the financial impact of asylum seekers in New York City.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation's hearing shed light on the complex issue of illegal immigration and its effects on national parks. The committee members and panelists discussed the potential consequences of housing migrants in these protected areas and explored ways to protect the environment and federal lands along the southern border.
