EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Democratic House member is warning that using military bases as deportation hubs could set back America’s combat readiness by as much as two years.
The comments come as two major news organizations claim to have seen a Trump administration memo purporting to establish a deportation hub for up to 10,000 foreign nationals at Fort Bliss, Texas.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, bases her estimate on the experience at Fort Bliss in 2021, when the Army post became a pillar in the resettlement of more than 73,000 Afghan refugees.
“What we learned after Operation Allies Welcome when we house Afghan refugees at Fort Bliss was that getting soldiers off of their mission and using military equipment for purposes for other than the mission set for the installation, that set us back by two years in terms of our readiness,” Escobar said Monday in an online briefing with reporters.
The operation involved providing temporary housing, medical and mental health services, and assistance with applying for work authorization for Afghans evacuated from their country after the U.S. military pulled out of that country in August 2021.
The last group of Afghans temporarily housed at Fort Bliss left in December of 2021.
An analysis of the impact of the mission on the military’s overall readiness convinced President Joe Biden not to use soldiers or bases for immigration purposes during the rest of his term, Escobar said.
“It’s not good for our readiness and it degrades our military,” she said. “There’s no need for that to happen. (The Department of Homeland Security) has the ability to very quickly stand up soft-sided facilities. We have one in Northeast El Paso. We also know the State of Texas told Trump they would donate land for his mass deportation program. […] There’s no reason to use the military.”
The El Paso Democrat also criticized recent military deportation flights to Central and South America. She said returning migrants to their home countries on commercial flights that can carry more people than military planes is less expensive for the government.
“What is the rationale for them doing this? Could it be he simply wants to militarize the immigration process because he believes it makes him appear tougher and stronger on immigration? I don’t know because they haven’t explained it,” she said.
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