House Republicans are expressing concern over the National Park Service’s decision to house migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, leading to an uptick in crime in the area. They have written a letter to National Park Service Director Charles Sams outlining their worries about safety risks to park employees, surrounding communities, and migrants due to the decision to lease national park land for a migrant encampment. Reports of criminality in and around the encampment include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams.
The lawmakers noted that the migrants at Floyd Bennett Field are not subject to a basic background search during the intake process, raising further concerns about safety. They also pointed out that City Hall has contracted with a private security firm to oversee the occupants, despite the federal lease listing the NYPD as the primary entity responsible for law enforcement issues on the premises. The lawmakers are demanding to know if migrants living at the camp have previous arrest records or convictions.
Border Patrol chief Jason Owens has warned that the US migrant crisis poses a national security threat, with roughly 1.5 million known “gotaways” evading arrest between President Biden taking office and September 2023. Additionally, at least 140,000 more individuals have illegally crossed into the country since October 1. FBI Director Christopher Wray has also expressed concern about overseas facilitators of human trafficking networks having ties to terror groups like ISIS.
More than 7.2 million migrants have been apprehended at the southern border since January 2021, with many awaiting immigration court hearings across the country. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed that over 85% of migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border have been released into the country. This influx of migrants into New York City has led to an estimated $10 billion budget cost for the city through the next fiscal year.
The Department of the Interior leased Floyd Bennett Field to the City of New York in August 2023, following lobbying efforts by Governor Kathy Hochul to help offset some of the expenses associated with housing migrants. The National Park Service had previously restricted its facilities from being used to shelter migrants, and City Hall initially considered awarding a security contract to a friend of Mayor Eric Adams but later partnered with a Texas-based firm. The migrant tent shelter has faced backlash from local residents in Brooklyn who describe it as an “invasion of immigrants.”
Mayor Adams imposed a curfew on several migrant tent sites in a effort to crack down on panhandling. Incidents at other tent sites, including a fatal stabbing and drug dealing, have raised further concerns. Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, had also lived in a homeless shelter in New York City. House Republicans have requested the National Park Service to provide all documents and communications related to the lease of Floyd Bennett Field by April 11.
