Fort Hood Representatives John Carter (TX-31) and Roger Williams (TX-25), sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Norris Cochran, urging them not to house illegal immigrants on Ft. Hood and reminding them of the language they secured in the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that prevents this action without House and Senate certification.

“The Biden Administration has amplified a crisis along the southern border with their weak border security policies, and as a result, are looking to house illegal immigrants on America’s military bases,” Representative Carter said. “This isn’t the first time an administration has looked to use our military installations as temporary housing for those illegally crossing into the United States and that’s why we included language to prevent it in the FY17 NDAA. Representative Williams and I will ensure that this law is upheld by President Biden and his Administration. Military installations are not a safe or appropriate location to house unaccompanied children or illegal adult immigrants. In addition, we are in an ongoing public health crisis, and bringing unknown individuals around our service members and their families is irresponsible and puts them at risk. The Biden Administration’s handling of this crisis is completely reckless, and I urge them to instead secure the border and focus their efforts on deporting these individuals back to their home countries, instead of turning our military installations into housing facilities for them.”

“Our military installations are not to be used as public housing for illegal immigrants. The overwhelming amount of migrants crossing the southern border is a direct result of President Biden’s failed policies, undoing years of progress under President Trump,” said Congressman Williams. “I’m proud to continue working alongside Judge Carter to protect Fort Hood from being used to house Unaccompanied Children (UAC). Together we secured a provision in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act to prevent agency requests to house UAC on military bases and we will ensure that this law is upheld by the Biden Administration. As we continue to make progress on defeating COVID-19, bringing more migrants into our communities without proper heath procedures is irresponsible and a direct threat to the health and safety of Central Texans. The crisis at the border is an unsustainable problem that the current administration has failed to address in any meaningful way.”

Read the final signed letter here.

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