Ahead of the Army-Navy game this weekend, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), an Army veteran, is demanding President Joe Biden address his border crisis that is displacing military families and veterans from hotels for the game to house illegal immigrants.
“It’s clear: these cancellations are due to your administration’s decision to ship illegal immigrants across the country to sanctuary cities at taxpayers’ expense. As you may know from the letter Governor Maura Healey (D-MA) sent Secretary Mayorkas, the demand for housing for illegal immigrants in Massachusetts has quadrupled from 25 families per day in March 2022 to over 100 families per day by July of this year. According to reports, the State of Massachusetts ‘spends about $45 million a month to house both homeless residents and migrants … in existing shelters, as well as various hotels and motels across the state.’” Ernst wrote.
In her letter, Ernst points out that, as the military faces recruiting challenges, the Army-Navy game represents an important opportunity to show the full spirit of our military and attract people to join our Armed Forces.
“The Army-Navy Game is not a trivial thing. It fosters esprit de corps between American military families, potential future servicemembers, and the Armed Forces. This is an imperative when the military is faced with the worst recruiting crisis in decades, in part driven by your politicization of it… What’s more, military families attending the game often use it to interest their children in a career in the Armed Services. This is particularly valuable, as ‘[t]he military considers parents one of the biggest influencers for service.’ Now, due to your untenable border crisis which has allowed nearly eight million illegal immigrants entry into the country, veterans and future servicemembers and their families will be unable to attend this year,” she continued.
“It is flatly unacceptable for our veterans and military families to be displaced because of your administration’s failure to secure our southern border. Military families who have scrimped and saved to be able to afford a trip to the Army-Navy game should not have to compete with illegal immigrants for hotel room space,” Ernst concluded.
Read the full letter here.
