BurlCo Officials Call Out Plan To Detain Immigrants At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ — The Burlington County commissioners spoke against plans to detain immigrants at New Jersey's largest military base.

President Donald Trump's administration intends to hold immigrants detained by the Department of Homeland Security at two U.S. bases, including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The DHS includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Joint Base is home to U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force units and straddles Burlington and Ocean counties. Camp Atterbury in Indiana would also be used for detainment, said Hegseth, who notified members of Congress from both states last week.

• Read more: ICE Detainees Set To Be Held At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

Using the military bases "will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements, including National Guard and Reserve readiness," Hegseth said in a letter to the Congressional delegations.

On Friday, Burlington County's commissioners expressed concerns about "overaggressive enforcement actions" by ICE and other federal authorities, citing immigration actions against U.S. citizens and legal residents, including the recent arrest of U.S. Army veteran George Retes in California.

Two weeks ago, Retes said he was driving to work when federal agents surrounded his car, broke his window, pepper-sprayed him and dragged him out. They arrested Retes and detained him for three days, despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen during the arrest.

"This kind of overzealous, and in some cases — unlawful — actions, threaten our citizens’ rights, safety and the culture of community we hold dear," the commissioners — all Democrats — said in a joint statement. "They also threaten our nation’s basic values. Instead of making our country stronger, they cause fear and division, and that has no place in our federal military installations or in Burlington County."

President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said there are about 60,000 beds currently available for detained immigrations, and the goal is to expand to 100,000.

Both bases identified by Hegseth have housed Afghan or Ukrainian refugees in recent years.

In 2014, President Barack Obama temporarily relied on military bases to detain immigrant children while ramping up privately operated facilities to detain families who crossed the border.

It's unclear when detainment operations will begin at the Joint Base.

Friday wasn't the first time Burlington County commissioners spoke out about the Trump administration on immigration matters. In late May, the DHS included the county on a list of more than 500 "sanctuary jurisdictions" around the country.

However, the board has not approved any measures that would qualify Burlington County for the list, according to a county spokesperson.

• Read more: Trump Admin. Calls Burlington Co. A 'Sanctuary' Locale, Shocking County Officials

The DHS removed the list a few days later.

Here's the full statement from the Burlington County commissioners on plans to use Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst as an immigration-detention site:

"Burlington County strives to be a destination for all people; a place where residents of all backgrounds feel welcome and free to live out the American dream. We believe those who commit crimes should be lawfully punished, and that people who are unlawfully present in our country should be lawfully returned to their home country. In short, we believe in the rule of law and that it needs to be evenly applied to everyone, including those responsible for enforcing it.

With that in mind, our Board has become increasingly concerned about overaggressive enforcement actions by officers and agents from Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other federal agencies. Cases of law-abiding U.S. citizens, students with legal visas, and even military veterans being unjustly detained have become far too frequent. Just this week the nation learned about George Retes, an Army veteran who was detained for three days despite being a U.S. citizen.

This kind of overzealous, and in some cases – unlawful -- actions, threaten our citizens’ rights, safety and the culture of community we hold dear. They also threaten our nation’s basic values. Instead of making our country stronger, they cause fear and division, and that has no place in our federal military installations or in Burlington County."