AURORA, Colo. ‒ A local congressman confirmed military officials at Buckley Space Force Base near Denver are hosting a staging area for law enforcement preparing to conduct immigration enforcement in the area.
But Rep. Jason Crow, who visited the base Monday, said he found no evidence of the proposed mass detention facility military officials last month said they would be creating there.
Crow, a Democrat who represents the area in Congress, is a U.S. Army veteran who has publicly worried that using the military to conduct or assist in mass deportation efforts weakens its readiness to defend the United States.
Buckley is home to Space Force members focused on global missile warning, intelligence and cyber operations missions.
“Folks are very worried about the politicization of the military,” Crow told reporters Monday after his visit. “To use our military to do something that is in my view immoral but also counterproductive … is something I don’t think any American signed up for.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Aurora, Colorado, which Crow represents, for failing to adequately protect residents from Venezuelan gang members living illegally in the area. Trump campaigned in Aurora and promised immigration agents would swiftly move against the gang and others once he took office.
News reports indicated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had planned mass raids in Aurora last week, but dialed back their plans after widespread publicity. Crow is a longtime Trump critic and said most Americans support targeted immigration enforcement, not mass raids and “things being done in the dead of night.”
Crow added: “Transparency results in accountability. I am seeking more information (and) I wish I had more to report.”
The U.S. military’s Northern Command last month said it would be providing facilities that included an operations center, staging area and temporary holding location for detainees. Crow said the base is a natural location for such activities, given its proximity to Denver and Aurora, along with runways for deportation flights.
As a member of Congress, Crow said he takes seriously his responsibility to provide Executive Branch oversight. Crow battled with the first Trump administration over the management of a permanent ICE detention facility in Aurora and said he’d be back to check on Buckley.
“The best thing to do, just show up and start poking around,” he said.