This week, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) sent a follow-up letter to Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory, once again requesting information and documentation on the migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field. To date, the administration has not complied with the committee's oversight on this issue. In part, the members wrote:

"The House Committee on Natural Resources is continuing to investigate the recent decision by the Biden administration to establish a migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, a portion of Gateway National Recreation Area, on national park land.

"As you know, on November 13, 2023, the Committee sent you a letter requesting information, documents, and records critical to our investigation. On November 13, 2023, staff for CEQ acknowledged receipt of the Committee Letter. However, the deadline for the requested information, documents, and records passed over five weeks ago, on November 30, 2023. To date, the Committee has yet to receive a response to our requests."

Read the full letter here.

Background

The Biden administration has erected "temporary" migrant shelters at Floyd Bennett Field, in the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City (NYC). The full committee recently held a hearing to hear directly from local officials, address their concerns and condemn the unprecedented action by the Biden administration to use national park land for a migrant encampment. Westerman and other Republican members traveled to the site last September and saw firsthand how access to this incredible resource is being denied to NYC residents by turning it into a migrant encampment.

Just last night, Floyd Bennett Field was evacuated due to hazardous weather conditions, and migrants were moved to a local high school. As of this morning, in-person classes for students were cancelled as migrants camped out in the school. Concerns about these conditions were brought up by members during the committee hearing, and were blatantly ignored by administration officials.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5283 on Nov. 30, 2023, which would ensure these actions by the Biden administration do not set a precedent for housing migrants on national parks across the country. The legislation prevents federal agencies from housing migrants on national parks, forests and other federal lands operated by federal land management agencies. The legislation also prevents the use of funds for housing illegal immigrants on any land under the jurisdiction of the federal land management agencies and revokes a lease between the City of New York and the National Park Service (NPS), which is currently being utilized to house migrants on NPS land at Floyd Bennett Field in NYC.