Pete Hegseth Announces Military Bases to Hold Illegals as Trump Expands Deportation Efforts [WATCH]

The Trump administration has confirmed plans to utilize Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey as a temporary facility to detain illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.

The move is part of the administration’s continued focus on tightening immigration enforcement and expanding logistical capacity for federal agencies responsible for border security.

In a formal letter to Rep. Herb Conaway (D-NJ), Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlined the authorization for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to temporarily operate on the base.

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“I am writing to inform the Committee that I certify that the provision of Department of Defense real property at Camp Atterbury, Indiana and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, for temporary use by the Department of Homeland Security to house illegal aliens will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements, including National Guard and Reserve readiness,” Hegseth wrote.

🚨 UPDATE – IT’S OFFICIAL: SecDef Pete Hegseth has how confirmed that military bases in INDIANA and NEW JERSEY will be housing illegal aliens who are waiting to be deported.

Hegseth is working to help Tom Homan DRASTICALLY increase the capacity for housing illegals.

More space… pic.twitter.com/pLOa8gMKPo

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 19, 2025

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The announcement follows a series of inter-agency efforts between the Department of Defense and DHS to assist in immigration enforcement measures.

A Defense Department official, speaking to Task & Purpose, noted that the specific timeline for implementation would depend on coordination with DHS but added that the temporary holding areas would not use existing buildings.

Instead, the facilities will be constructed separately to minimize disruption to normal military operations.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is located southeast of Trenton, New Jersey, and serves as a hub for several military units, including National Guard and Army, Navy, and Marine Reserve personnel.

The project mirrors other initiatives implemented across the country under President Trump’s immigration agenda. In Florida, a temporary detention facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” is currently housing criminal illegal immigrants under the supervision of National Guard troops.

The National Guard has also played a supporting role in federal immigration enforcement operations, including raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and in response to anti-ICE riots in California.

The use of military facilities for immigration enforcement has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey.

In a joint statement posted to social media, a group of state Democrats opposed the plan and raised concerns about the role of the military in domestic immigration enforcement.

“This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and militarizes a radical immigration policy that has resulted in the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants and unlawful deportation of U.S. citizens, including children, across the country,” the lawmakers said.

“Using our country’s military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community. We have the greatest military in the world and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful,” they added.

New Jersey’s Congressional Democrats stand united in opposition of the Trump Administration’s decision to create a detention facility for undocumented immigrants at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. pic.twitter.com/3vCWVEOdJW

— Congressman Herb Conaway (@RepHerbConaway) July 18, 2025

Despite the objections, the Trump administration maintains that the coordination between DHS and the Department of Defense has been structured to ensure no interference with military readiness.

The administration has defended the move as a necessary response to the volume of detentions resulting from stepped-up border enforcement and interior immigration operations.