CARTER SAYS NO TO HOUSING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON MILITARY INSTALLATIONS

WASHINGTON, DC – February 12, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) introduced the Resist Executive Amnesty on Defense Installations (READI) Act which will prohibit any illegal alien from being housed on our military installations. The Obama Administration is planning to force several military bases to house illegal immigrant minors rather than face the facts and reverse the President’s misguided and broken immigration policies. This bill will ensure no military installation will be required to house any illegal immigrant.

“Our Military’s core mission is the defense of our nation and must not be jeopardized by the fallout from this president’s failed immigration policies,” said Rep. Carter. “Housing illegal immigrants on military installations like Fort Hood harms our military force by causing a distraction on their home bases which are set up to train the best military force in the world.”

“Housing illegal immigrants near live fire ranges, large military tanks, and other combat ready equipment is irresponsible and unsafe. This bill will ensure we do not distract from the military’s mission, and will also be in the best interest of illegal immigrants facing temporary housing while awaiting a hearing. I urge the President to secure our borders and strengthen our military, not prioritize illegal immigrants over the safety of our homeland and the American people.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has requested assistance from the Department of Defense to temporarily house Unaccompanied Alien Children on military installations around the country. With this action, President Obama is setting a dangerous precedent in prioritizing his illegal executive amnesty agenda over the well-being of our military.

While the President broadly pardons five million illegal immigrants, he has allowed our Army to become the smallest since before WWII, our Navy the smallest since 1916 and our smallest Air Force since its inception in 1947. He has also cancelled or delayed nearly 50 critical national security procurement programs over the last seven years. In total, President Obama has cut defense spending by more than $1 trillion in his seven years in office.

Not only is our military smaller than it was before President Obama took office, our readiness, in the words of former Army Chief of Staff, General Odierno is “at historic lows.” Only one-third of Army Brigade Combat Teams are ready for contingency operations. In the Air Force, less than 50 percent of the service’s combat air forces meet full-spectrum readiness requirements. Furthermore, the Navy has extended deployments, increased operational tempos, and shortened, eliminated, or deferred training and maintenance.

“Housing illegal aliens on our military installations will only exacerbate these challenges at a time when our nation faces a more complex array of threats than ever before in our history. Using military bases to support the President’s immigration agenda when their resources have already been stretched thin is unacceptable. Our country is at war with radical Islamic extremism at home and abroad, and our military assets must be used to train and prepare our troops, not house illegal aliens. The READI Act ensures our military installations remain focused on their core mission: training the greatest armed forces in the world.”

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Rep. Carter represents Texas District 31, which includes Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.