House panel bans unaccompanied illegal minors from staying on military bases

Rep. Jim Bridenstein, R-Okla., introduced an amendment on Wednesday that would prohibit housing unaccompanied illegal immigrant children on military bases while the Department of Health and Human Services adjudicates their cases.

“The purpose of military installations is to prepare service members to fight and win wars. They do not exist to do other non-defense purposes,” he said at a House Armed Services Committee mark up of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

The committee adopted the amendment by a 35-26 vote.

Supporters of the amendment said there have been examples where service members reporting for training had to stay at an off-base hotel because all facilities a base were occupied, including some by unaccompanied undocumented children.

Bridenstein said housing these children on military bases has hurt readiness by filling beds that service members could stay in while completing training. He also said military personnel had to work to to prevent children from wandering onto a live fire range.

“Housing these children on DoD military bases is not safe for them,” he said.

Fort Hood in Texas is being considered as a new site to house unaccompanied minors. Bridenstein said the site picked to house those children is directly next to a live fire range.

Instead, he said these children should be housed in the 77,000 empty or underutilized buildings owned by the federal government.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., said the amendment is “inhumane and not a family values issue that we as Americans hold so strongly.”

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said that he also opposed the amendment, since the Defense Department certified that housing unaccompanied illegal minors does not affect readiness. He also pointed to a recent Pentagon report that said the military has 22 percent excess capacity, arguing that this proves there is plenty of room for them.