The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
It’s not needed now, but the U.S. Army National Guard Armory on Hamilton Street remains on the list of sites to process migrants arriving in in New Jersey, a military official said on January 24.
The Armory “was previously identified as a potential state site should the need arise to process migrants,” Lt. Col. Agneta Murnan, a spokesperson for the state Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, said in an email.
“Based on our information from the NJ Office of Emergency Management, we don’t anticipate the need to use this facility at this time given the low number of migrants who have settled in New Jersey over the past few weeks.” Murnan said.
Murnan did confirm, though, that the Armory remains on the list of processing sites should it be needed.
The issue arose following the mass bussing of immigrants crossing into the United States from Texas and other southern states.
Things came to a head several weeks ago when it was discovered that hundreds of migrants had arrived at various transit points in the state after being bussed from Texas and other border states.
Many of the migrants then took trains to New York City, which was their original final destination. The busses allegedly stopped in New Jersey to circumvent new rules promulgated by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to more closely monitor the number of busses carrying the migrants into the city.
The Armory is the headquarters of the National Guard’s 42nd Regional Support Group which provides “mission command to assigned or attached units performing sustainment and security missions in support local civil authorities for the purpose of protection of life, property and the preservation of peace, order, and public safety,” according to its web site.
Mayor Phil Kramer said in a Letter to the Editor earlier this month that he, State Sen. Bob Smith and state Assemblymen Joe Danielsen and Kevin Egan have asked Gov. Phil Murphy for more information about the plan to use the Armory.
