Durbin, Duckworth Request Meeting With Secretary Of Navy Regarding President Trump Using Naval Station Great Lakes To House ICE Agents

Durbin, Duckworth Request Meeting With Secretary Of Navy Regarding President Trump Using Naval Station Great Lakes To House ICE Agents

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senators requested a meeting with the Secretary of the Navy, John C. Phelan, demanding information around President Trump's plan to use Naval Station Great Lakes to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as President Trump's threats to deploy the military to Chicago are imminent:

"Using the military to 'occupy' an American city in the absence of an emergency politicizes the institution, erodes civilian control of the Armed Forces, and places unnecessary burdens on servicemembers, families, and employers. And now the Trump Administration wants ICE agents to operate out of Naval Station Great Lakes, where the Navy trains thousands of new recruits a year, to continue their inhumane immigration rampage.

"We have a duty to our servicemembers to find out exactly what the Administration's plan is around Naval Station Great Lakes. That's why we're calling on the Secretary of the Navy to meet in Washington to get clarity for our men and women in uniform and American taxpayers."

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