NY lawmakers rebuke Biden, FAA for agreeing to house migrants at JFK

Several members of New York’s Republican congressional delegation on Wednesday signed onto a scathing letter sent to the heads of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey condemning the decision to house migrants at John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

The letter, authored by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and co-signed by Reps. Elise Stefanik, Nick Langworthy, Marc Molinaro, Claudia Tenney, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Brandon Williams and Mike Lawler, denounces the move to open an emergency shelter for arriving migrants in an old postal warehouse at JFK. 

“The recent decision by the FAA and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to house illegal migrants at JFK Airport poses both a security threat to one of America’s largest transportation hubs and represents the palpable failure of the Biden Administration’s disastrous border policies,” D’Esposito told The Post in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am glad many of my New York congressional colleagues joined me in rebuking the out of touch bureaucrats at the FAA and Port Authority who prioritize migrants over American national security,” he added. 

The missive, sent to FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen and Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, argues that the “unprecedented move could jeopardize national security, put pressure on local resources, and potentially disrupt functions of a major international airport.” 

“By greenlighting this location on June 5, 2023, the FAA chose to put politics ahead of the safety of New Yorkers, the aviation industry, and its passengers,” reads the letter.

“Instead of collaboratively using their resources towards combating the expected summer shortfall of administrative capabilities, the FAA and JFK are instead choosing to exacerbate the failed border policies of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and President Biden.”

The lawmakers blast the plan as flying in the face of security recommendations laid out after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and express concern that the migrant shelter will overwhelm authorities at the airport.

“The 9/11 Commission carefully laid out recommendations to prevent and combat acts of terrorism, some of which addressed major vulnerabilities in general and cargo aviation security, such as inadequate screening and the need for layered security systems,” the letter says.

“The housing of unvetted migrants on the campus of one of the world’s busiest airports wilfully ignores public safety. If we learned anything from observing the southwest border, it’s that Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are often pulled away from their duties in order to tend to the humanitarian crisis, a situation we cannot afford to replicate at JFK,” the lawmakers argue.

The letter concludes by imploring the officials to “reverse course,” calling the plan “misguided.”