Hawley proposes Ft. Leonard Wood as potential ICE training facility

FT. LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security that proposes Ft. Leonard Wood as a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) training facility.

Hawley says Ft. Leonard Wood is critical hub for military law enforcement training and can accommodate sudden surges to its on-base population.

He added that Ft. Leonard Wood already houses military enforcement training for the U.S. Army
Military Police School and the Marine Corps Police Academy and also cited a history of federal training programs at the site.

"Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri has the infrastructure, experience, and space to support the rapid
expansion of ICE’s critical immigration enforcement workforce," said Hawley in a Sept. 12 letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons.

Ft. Leonard Wood has served as a U.S. Army training institution in Pulaski County, nearly two hours west of St. Louis, since the 1940s. The Center of Excellence at Ft. Leonard Wood trains around 80,000 soldiers annually, according to the U.S. Army.

For a closer look at Hawley's letter, click here.