Military bases in New Jersey and Indiana are set to be repurposed by the Department of Homeland Security to house illegal immigrants, a move that has sparked strong backlash from Democratic lawmakers.
According to the Defense Department, portions of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana will be converted into “temporary soft-sided holding facilities,” following an order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Fox News reported on Saturday.
New Jersey Democrats sharply criticized the decision, arguing it could compromise military readiness and called on Republicans to join them in opposing it. Both bases were previously used to shelter thousands of Afghan refugees after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and militarizes a radical immigration policy that has resulted in the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants and unlawful deportation of U.S. citizens, including children, across the country,” the group of Democrats said in a joint statement.
“Using our country’s military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community. We have the greatest military in the world and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful,” they added.
The statement was made by Reps. Herb Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer and Nellie Pou as well as Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, Fox reported.
Democratic lawmakers did not broadly criticize President Biden’s use of military bases to house Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In fact, many Democrats supported the evacuation and resettlement efforts.
For instance, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September 2021 found that approximately 75% of Democrats favored admitting thousands of Afghan refugees into the United States.
The Defense Department stated that it remains unclear when either site will open, as the decision will depend on operational needs and coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the nation’s only tri-service military base jointly operated by the Air Force, Army, and Navy, spans 42,000 acres and houses approximately 45,000 military and civilian personnel, making it one of the largest and most strategically significant installations on the East Coast.
Camp Atterbury, located near Edinburgh, is a 34,000-acre Army and Air National Guard base that has long served as a training ground for brigades and a site for large-scale military operations, Fox noted.
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security has relied on detention facilities to house migrants awaiting asylum hearings or deportation.
According to NJ Spotlight News, lawmakers said Hegseth notified Conoway of the decision in a letter, assuring him that the move would not impact military training, operations, readiness, or other essential military functions.
New Jersey already hosts two privately operated immigration detention facilities: Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center. Delaney Hall gained national attention in May when Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing during a confrontation with federal immigration authorities.
McIver (D-N.J.) was later federally charged for allegedly interfering with federal officers during the same incident.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration opened a new immigration detention facility in Florida’s Everglades, located in an area surrounded by alligators and nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The developments come just two weeks after President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law, allocating between $150 billion and $170 billion for immigration enforcement over the next several years—$45 billion of which is specifically designated for expanding immigration detention facilities.
During Friday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s Special Report, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has been mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential contender, acknowledged that Trump and his administration deserve credit for their efforts to secure the border.
“I know that we all know the solution is you’ve got to be able to secure the border, you have to be able to work to get violent criminals out of our neighborhoods,” Moore told anchor Bret Baier.