The surge of migrants arriving in New York is once again serving as a flashpoint in the fight on Capitol Hill over the president’s border and immigration policies.
House Republicans convened a hearing Wednesday regarding the use of national parklands to house migrants.
New York Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, a Democrat, and City Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a Republican, both testified, railing against plans to use Floyd Bennett Field as a shelter.
They urged Congress to revoke the recently signed lease agreement between the city and federal government.
“It's a transit desert and has no infrastructure, no plumbing, no electricity, no sewage system,” Williams told lawmakers.
Both Williams and Ariola previously joined a lawsuit, asking a judge to block the mayor from opening a shelter at the former airfield, which juts into Jamaica Bay from southeast Brooklyn and is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.
“It's not about politics today. It is about our national resources. It's about opening a door to our national parks that can then set a precedent to happen in each and every one of the national parks in each and every one of your states,” Ariola said.
Republicans on the House Committee on Natural Resources, including Rep. Mike Lawler, broadened the conversation beyond just the parks, blasting Democrats and the White House over immigration policy.
“Having sanctuary city policies has been one of the dumbest things I've ever seen for years. And only now are Democrats in New York finally waking up and going, 'Oh, this is a problem,'” he said. “You think?”
Congressional Democrats from New York labeled the hearing a “distraction” ahead of the impending government shutdown.
“What are we going to accomplish here? Nothing. Nothing. They're not presenting any real solutions,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez said in an interview.
During the hearing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pressed the state leaders on their objections to Floyd Bennett Field, asking which sites they propose as an alternative.
When Williams responded that she did not have a proposal, Ocasio-Cortez pushed back.
“You don't have a proposal alternative? No proposed alternative. No solutions here. No ideas here,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
This is the second hearing touching on New York’s migrant situation in as many weeks. Last Wednesday, a different House committee held a hearing focused on the financial costs of the migrant surge. New York City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli testified.
Over the past few months, New York’s governor and mayor, both Democrats, have both repeatedly sought more financial help from the federal government.
Underscoring the burgeoning fight on Capitol Hill, several New York Republicans in Congress this week introduced legislation to block cities with so-called sanctuary policies from receiving federal cash to help pay for, among other things, sheltering, health care services and food.
Rep. Nick LaLota is the lead author of the bill, with Lawler, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Rep. Brandon Williams, Rep. Nick Langworthy and Rep. Claudia Tenney joining as co-sponsors.