Hundreds of bunk beds are ready for Afghan personnel to use at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Aug. 30, 2021.
In a move that’s raising more than a few eyebrows in the ranks, the Pentagon has signed off on plans to let Homeland Security convert two U.S. military installations into temporary detention centers for migrants awaiting deportation.
According to a July 15 letter from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense will allow the Department of Homeland Security to set up soft-sided holding facilities at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana—both installations with proud records of military readiness and recent roles in the chaotic aftermath of the Afghan withdrawal.
But this time, it’s not refugees fleeing Taliban rule. It’s DHS, flexing its domestic enforcement arm and using military real estate as temporary holding pens.
A Pentagon official confirmed the plan but couldn’t offer a timeline—classic Washington two-step. “It depends on coordination with DHS,” the official said, without elaborating on who’s really in the driver’s seat.
To no one’s surprise, Hegseth’s letter insists the new use of these bases “will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements.” That’s boilerplate language meant to calm concerns, but for service members trying to stay sharp, share facilities, or maintain unit cohesion, it could mean more red tape and fewer resources.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst—a mouthful of a name for a base that already juggles operations from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and National Guard—will now add another mission: temporary housing for detainees. Camp Atterbury, a key National Guard training hub in Indiana, is also on deck.
Both bases were pressed into service during Operation Allies Welcome in 2021, when thousands of Afghan evacuees were processed through hastily assembled shelters. Troops stepped up then, as they always do, but the strain on infrastructure and readiness was real.
Now, just a few years later, they’re being asked to do it again—this time for a domestic immigration crackdown. DHS has increasingly leaned on DoD for support: from logistics to lift, military airfields and aircraft have quietly become part of deportation operations.
There’s no telling how long these “temporary” detention centers will be in place, or how their presence might impact morale and mission at the affected installations.
But as any grunt with more than one tour under their belt will tell you: temporary orders have a funny way of becoming permanent.
