Missouri senators push for ICE training at Fort Leonard Wood
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Each of Missouri’s U.S. senators is asking the Trump administration to make Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County an ICE training center.
Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter last week to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem highlighting the fort as a potential training spot for immigration agents.
“To facilitate the swift and effective training of these officers, I wanted to note the potential benefits of utilizing Fort Leonard Wood, a major Army installation in my state,” Hawley wrote. “Fort Leonard Wood is currently a critical hub for military law enforcement training — housing both the U.S. Army Military Police School (USAMPS) and the Marine Corps Police Academy (MCPA) — and has a long history of supporting other federal law enforcement training efforts. The installation is able to accommodate sudden surges in its on-base population, and it currently has extra capacity to host additional missions due to the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI).
“Put simply, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri has the infrastructure, experience, and space to support the rapid expansion of ICE’s critical immigration enforcement workforce. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt followed up with his own comments on Tuesday during a Senate hearing.
“It’s well-positioned after the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ was passed, and we’ve got these resources out there for border enforcement, to help train ICE agents,” Schmitt said in the hearing.
Fort Leonard Wood was founded in 1941 and named after a former Army chief of staff. The base includes 5,400 active duty members and more than 12,000 of their family members, according to a U.S. military website.
ICE has expanded its role in detaining illegal immigrants for deportation under the Trump administration, including lucrative bonuses for new recruits.
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