White House against Rep. Malliotakis’ bill that would ban migrant housing in places like Fort Wadsworth

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — President Joseph Biden’s administration came out against a bill from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) Monday that would ban migrant housing on federal properties like Fort Wadsworth.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy statement outlining the administration’s opposition to the legislation that is set to be voted on in the House of Representatives Thursday.

“The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 5283, which would prohibit the use of Federal funds to provide temporary shelter to certain noncitizens, including migrants seeking asylum, on federal lands falling under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service,” OMB wrote in its policy statement. “The Administration opposes this legislation because it would significantly restrict the ability of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to make decisions regarding the appropriate uses of their lands and resources, even in emergency or other situations.”

In addition to blocking federal funding from being used to house migrants on federal land, Malliotakis’ legislation would also retroactively dismantle the lease agreement between the federal government and New York City that set up a recently-opened shelter complex at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, which is part of the same Gateway National Recreation Area as Fort Wadsworth and Great Kills Park.

The bill has won the support of some of Malliotakis’ Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, but has no Democratic co-sponsors. Additionally, a similar bill has not been advanced in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Over the summer, Malliotakis and other members of Staten Island’s delegation of elected officials spoke out against the rumored possibility of a migrant shelter opening at Fort Wadsworth.

That was at the height of the city’s push to shelter tens of thousands of the more than 130,000 migrants who have come to the city since the spring of 2022.

While their shelter enthusiasm has waned, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has moved to cut billions of dollars from city programs to help pay for the migrant crisis that they say will cost the city upwards of $12 billion over the next few years.

Malliotakis issued a statement criticizing Democrats, including Biden, Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Sen. Charles Schumer for their parties handling of the migrant crisis and its opposition to her bill.

“Not only did President Biden create this crisis but he unfairly wants to continue taking tax dollars and public spaces like Floyd Bennett Field from citizens to perpetuate it,” she said. “I expect and look forward to the House passing my bill this week and sending a clear message to Biden, Schumer, Hochul and Adams that the people of this district have had enough of their self-created migrant crisis that they can and should end today.”