STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After reports of ICE eyeing Fort Wadsworth as a makeshift detention site, Councilmember Kamillah Hanks penned an opposition letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Pointing to the site’s historic value and the years dedicated to its preservation by the National Park Service, Hanks implored Noem to reconsider the potential move.
“It is one of the oldest continuously fortified military sites in the United States,” Hanks wrote. “The site includes irreplaceable military and architectural assets such as Battery Weed, Fort Tompkins, and multiple Endicott-era coastal defense structures that illustrate more than three centuries of American military history.”
She continued: “The site’s infrastructure, purpose, and legal status are wholly incompatible with such a function. It is also concerning that local government was not consulted regarding this evaluation… Its history and public mission cannot be compromised.”
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to an Advance/SILive.com request for comment about the situation.
News of the agency’s interest in Fort Wadsworth was initially reported by the New York Times, after ICE officials visited the site last week to evaluate its viability.
ICE is sizing up the Coast Guard facility on the property in particular, the Times wrote.
The news banded local officials together in opposition, with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis saying, “The site is not suitable to house migrants. We’ve made this very clear, both publicly and privately, and we do not anticipate any such plans.”
Borough President Vito Fossella is in concert with his colleagues.
“This is not the first time that this issue has popped up. Although it’s federal property, we did look into it and nothing materialized,” Fossella said last week. “As of today, it seems like it may be in the same path, but we will stay on top of it.”
The Advance/SILive.com reached out to the National Parks Service, the Coast Guard, and ICE for comment.
Both the National Park Service and the Coast Guard directed the Advance/SILive.com to reach out to ICE, but the agency did not respond to requests for comment.
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