White House offers airports as housing for migrants
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew explains why he believes the White House's suggestion to house migrants in rural airports is a disaster in the making.
The Biden administration is reportedly proposing a list of locations for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to relocate migrants, including New Jersey's Atlantic City International Airport. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who represents the district, said Friday on "Fox & Friends" he will fight the plan "with every ounce of strength." Van Drew criticized the Biden administration's border policies for spilling out further than the border states, calling it a "national defense issue."
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REP. JEFF VAN DREW: Hopefully, it won't happen. We're going to fight this with every ounce of strength that we have. It is the wrong thing. You know, when we said what was happening at the southern border was going to affect the entire United States of America, this is what happens. I want people to listen out there. This is not just an Arizona problem, or a Texas problem or a California problem. This is a United States of America problem. And now they want to come into our beautiful county, our beautiful South Jersey, and try to ruin that as well. There's also a national defense issue here. This is a very, very important issue to understand. We have the FAA technical center there that's doing very important work, some of which is very significant for the safety of this country and air flight. And we have our F-16s that are there as part of our defense, as well, as part of the Air National Guard, 177 fighter wing. They are the first line of defense for Washington, D.C. and New York City. This is a disaster in the making. I mean, this is the worst administration. I used to say, in my lifetime. Now, this is the worst administration in the history of the United States of America.
Migrants await registration outside the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Aug. 1, 2023. The asylum seekers are forced to wait on the streets, since the hotel is currently at capacity. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital )
Bloomberg reported this week that the Biden administration pitched a list of 11 federally-owned sites for migrants to move from New York City. It also included a tax office in Long Island, N.Y., and other airports in the New York area, including one near the Canadian border.
Meantime, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has activated 250 members of the National Guard to provide basic services at emergency shelter hotels amid an influx of migrants that has service providers stretched thin.
Healey's administration will also launch a Regional Rapid Response Teams to assist with overseeing shelter sites, she announced Thursday. The teams will consist of state employees.
The move comes after she declared a state of emergency this month over the increasing number of migrants arriving in Massachusetts from Texas.
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Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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