House subpoenas records on 'ramshackle, crime-ridden' illegal alien shelter in NYC after DHS 'repeatedly blocked' inquiries

The House Committee on Natural Resources issued a subpoena on Friday to the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Homeland Security for allegedly failing to produce requested reports on a makeshift shelter for illegal immigrants in New York City, according to a committee press release.

Last year, the federal government penned a deal with the city to set up an encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, a National Park Service site. Since then, the House committee has opened inquiries into the deal, requesting additional information on the decision to use the space as shelter for illegal aliens. However, it claims that the DHS has failed to comply with those requests.

'Democrat bureaucrats have repeatedly blocked congressional inquiries.'

The subpoena, issued by committee chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas), stated that the DHS has "obstruct[ed] the Committee's investigation rather than comply in a timely manner with legitimate oversight requests."

"DHS blamed production delays on other priorities, software outages, backlogs, and review time of thousands of pages of tailored search results," the subpoena read.

The committee accused the federal government of "successfully kick[ing] the production can down the road and refus[ing] to meaningfully cooperate with the Committee—with no end in sight."

In a statement regarding the recent subpoena, Westerman said, "Using national parks to house migrants and cover up Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' border crisis is an egregious misuse of our national treasures. This sets a concerning precedent for the future of our public lands. This committee has conducted months of oversight on the shady backroom deals that resulted in a ramshackle, crime-ridden encampment built in a national park."

"Still, Democrat bureaucrats have repeatedly blocked congressional inquiries," Westerman continued. "At best, they sent heavily redacted documents that provided no useful information. At worst, they failed to even acknowledge congressional requests. I refuse to play their games. Today, I'm using the committee's full authority to get to the bottom of this disastrous decision and hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for desecrating America's most treasured public landscapes."

The committee hopes the investigation into the lease will expose the government's "abuse of power."

Anything else?

Part of the remote airfield was converted into makeshift shelter accommodations for illegal immigrants last year by Mayor Eric Adams' (D) administration. The site was slated to provide housing to roughly 2,000 people.

Many individuals shuttled over to the location as part of the first busload refused to stay at the tent city, complaining that the site was too isolated. Local Republicans and Democrats both pushed back on the administration's decision to use the space for housing.

Adams imposed a curfew on tenants earlier this year after New York residents complained about an increase in begging and criminal activity around the shelter. In March, Westerman sent a letter to the National Park Service demanding more information about the vetting process of its tenants after the reported "uptick in crime" in the area.

"The widespread reports of criminality in and around the Floyd Bennett Field migrant encampment include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams," the lawmakers wrote. "The Committee is deeply concerned with the Biden administration's management of American's public lands, notably at Floyd Bennett Field, and the inherent safety risks to employees at the park, residents of the surrounding communities, and migrants as a result of the decision to lease national park land for a migrant encampment."

The DHS did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.

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