Rep. Escobar opposes use of DOD assets for migrant detention and non‑reimbursable DHS support requests
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Summary
Rep. Veronica Escobar told the House Armed Services Committee she opposes using military installations and non‑reimbursable Department of Defense support for migrant detention operations, arguing such uses harm readiness and civil‑military relations and citing the Fort Bliss example.
Representative Veronica Escobar told the House Armed Services Committee she opposes Department of Defense use of military assets to perform migration‑related missions that she said belong to the Department of Homeland Security, warning such assignments harm readiness and civil‑military relations.
Escobar said the administration has used DOD airlift to deport migrants, set up migrant processing and detention facilities at Guante1namo Bay, and proposed detention facilities on military installations, including Fort Bliss in her district. She said DHS had requested DoD support on a non‑reimbursable basis, which Escobar described as inappropriate because funds appropriated to DoD should prioritize service members and global threats.
Citing the prior Operation Allies Welcome, when Fort Bliss hosted over 10,000 refugees and experienced roughly two years of delayed readiness, Escobar warned that similar missions could set back readiness again. She said local constituents have raised concerns about armored vehicles and DHS personnel patrolling nearby communities and said DoD involvement in domestic law‑enforcement‑style operations risks civil‑military relations.
Escobar said she would submit additional requests in writing as time ran short and noted she serves on the MilCon‑VA subcommittee of Appropriations, where funding decisions can reinforce authorization work. The committee did not take formal action during member day on these objections; Chairman Rogers thanked her for being an appropriator as well as a witness.