Malliotakis' Cancellation of Floyd Bennett Lease, Ban on Migrant Housing in Parks Passes House
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today announced her legislation to prevent migrant housing on federal lands was passed by the U.S House of Representatives with bipartisan support in a 224-203 vote.
Specifically, the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R.5283), would prohibit federal funding from being used to provide housing for illegal immigrants on any land under the jurisdiction of the Federal Land Management agencies, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. Both Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth and Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field are included under this description, along with any other park in the Gateway National Recreation Area.
"Turning our federal parks into encampments for unvetted migrants from all over the world is unfair to surrounding communities and the taxpayers who are being forced to foot the bill while our Mayor bankrupts our city and slashes services from our citizens,” Malliotakis said. "This crisis is unsustainable and unsafe and we're using every legal and legislative tool at our disposal, including the bipartisan passage of my legislation today, to stop the Biden, Hochul and Adams Administrations from taking more public spaces and cutting more services that are meant for our citizens. I urge Senator Schumer and the Senate to pass this bill and H.R.2 as swiftly as possible so we can put an end to this crisis once and for all."
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman also worked with Malliotakis to ensure that, if enacted, the law would retroactively cancel the contract between New York City and the Biden Administration to house migrants at Floyd Bennett Field.
"Earlier this year, I led a group of my colleagues to New York City after we heard the alarming news that the Department of Interior had begun housing migrants in the Gateway Recreation Area in Brooklyn," said House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). "We were shocked to learn this was not only happening without any oversight, but was also being expedited by Biden Administration officials in an attempt to cover for his disaster at our southern border. Against the wishes of communities and local elected officials, the Biden Administration constructed shelters on the limited green space New Yorkers have to enjoy. This sets an incredibly dangerous precedent for this policy to spread to more of America's most cherished natural sites. Rep. Malliotakis’s bill is a crucial step in preventing Biden's border crisis from coming to a national park near you. I would like to thank her for her leadership on this issue and for drafting this important legislation to protect America's best idea and prevent President Biden from placing the burden of his disastrous policies on the National Park Service and American families."
WATCH MALLIOTAKIS' FLOOR SPEECH HERE
In September, Malliotakis hosted members of the House Committee on Natural Resources on a tour of migrant shelters across New York City, including the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan and Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field. Since then, the Committee has held two hearings on Malliotakis' legislation, which included New York City Council Member Joann Ariola (R-District 32) and New York State Assembly Member Jaime Williams (D-District 59) as witnesses. Both Ariola and Williams are leading a lawsuit with Malliotakis on this same issue.
Malliotakis is a cosponsor of H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, legislation House Republicans passed in May that would require DHS to resume construction of the southern border wall, increase the number of Border Patrol agents, reform the asylum process and mandate the use of E-Verify, and prohibit the release of illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border into the United States. She has also introduced legislation to prevent migrant housing on Military Bases, including Brooklyn's Fort Hamilton Army Base.