(NewsNation) — Nine Democratic members of Congress are pushing back against the Trump administration’s plans to use military installations around the country to detain migrants, claiming the use of nonrefundable Department of Defense funding is being used for “little else but political theater.”
The letter was sent to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The group wrote it has “urgent concerns” and “staunch objection” to the White House’s plans to use several U.S. military bases to house migrants in federal custody.
A Department of Homeland Security senior official announced last week that its current allotment of detainment beds is maxed out with nearly 48,000 migrants in federal custody.
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The letter, citing various media reports, said DHS’ request for financial resources from the Department of Defense means “blatantly forsaking” the intent of what DOD funding was meant for.
What military sites are being targeted for migrant detention?
The New York Times reported last month that several military installations in six states have been designated as possible detention spaces.
The report indicated that Fort Bliss, located in El Paso, Texas, would serve as a testing ground for migrant detention and would serve as the hub for military-related immigration enforcement. It could eventually be used to detain up to 10,000 migrants as they go through the deportation process, the Times reported.
Officials, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, said that 1,000 migrants would initially be moved to Fort Bliss. The installation had reportedly been detaining some of the migrants who were sent to Guantanamo Bay before those detainees were returned to the United States.
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A public affairs official at Fort Bliss declined to comment Tuesday and directed NewsNation’s inquiry about the use of the military installation for immigration enforcement purposes to Homeland Security and ICE.
An email sent by NewsNation on Tuesday seeking comment from DHS officials about the use of Fort Bliss and other military installations was not immediately returned on Tuesday. An ICE spokesperson referred the matter to Homeland Security.
How would Department of Defense assets be used by Homeland Security?
The lawmakers’ letter to Trump, Hegseth and Noem called the request for assistance “a reckless misuse” of U.S. military installations, personnel and funding.
Since Trump’s second term began, about 6,500 new active duty forces have been ordered to deploy to the southern border. Before that, there were about 2,500 troops already there, largely National Guard troops on active duty orders along with a few hundred active duty aviation forces.
The group wrote that the expanded use of military personnel and facilities to support mass deportation efforts “has already diverted and will continue to divert” personnel and resources from the Department of Defense’s core warfighting mission.
Among those who signed the letter was U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, whose district includes El Paso, where Fort Bliss is located.
The letter did not specify how much funding is being used for Homeland Security purposes.
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“Commandeering military funds and assets to support detention operations on military bases imposes a ludicrous mandate on our military personnel and installations,” the group of Democrats wrote. “The administration has yet to issue even a passable justification for the misuse of DoD personnel, assets or funds, further conflating the separate missions of DHS and DoD.”
In addition to Fort Bliss in Texas, The New York Times reported that military installations in California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Utah have been considered for migrant detention. The report said that facilities in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Minnesota are also being looked into.
An email seeking comment from the Department of Defense about the use of military funds and facilities for immigration enforcement was not immediately returned to NewsNation on Tuesday.
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The expansion of detention space comes after migrants who were being detained at Guantanamo Bay were recently returned to the United States. The Trump administration previously announced plans to detain as many as 30,000 migrants at the military installation in Cuba.
An ICE spokesperson declined to comment on the use of Guantanamo Bay for immigration enforcement, citing pending litigation.
Noem told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley in an exclusive interview that the migrants were removed from Guantanamo Bay to “create space” and that migrants would continue to be moved around. She said that DHS would continue to use Guantanamo Bay for detention space.
Noem added that the agency had other facilities it could use for migrant detention but that Guantanamo Bay was “key” to making sure DHS had the space it needed to keep migrants in federal custody.
“We’ve got a lot of facilities there, a lot of capacity there and we’re going to continue to use it, especially for these individuals that are so dangerous,” Noem said.
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
