White House against Rep. Malliotakis’ bill that would ban migrant housing in places like Fort Wadsworth

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — President Joseph Biden’s administration came out against a bill from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) Monday that would ban migrant housing on federal properties like Fort Wadsworth.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy statement outlining the administration’s opposition to the legislation that is set to be voted on in the House of Representatives Thursday.

“The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 5283, which would prohibit the use of Federal funds to provide temporary shelter to certain noncitizens, including migrants seeking asylum, on federal lands falling under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service,” OMB wrote in its policy statement. “The Administration opposes this legislation because it would significantly restrict the ability of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to make decisions regarding the appropriate uses of their lands and resources, even in emergency or other situations.”

In addition to blocking federal funding from being used to house migrants on federal land, Malliotakis’ legislation would also retroactively dismantle the lease agreement between the federal government and New York City that set up a recently-opened shelter complex at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, which is part of the same Gateway National Recreation Area as Fort Wadsworth and Great Kills Park.

The bill has won the support of some of Malliotakis’ Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, but has no Democratic co-sponsors. Additionally, a similar bill has not been advanced in the Democrat-controlled Senate.