A detention facility for migrants at Fort Bliss, Texas, will have an operational capacity of 1,000 beds and can be expanded to 5,000, said Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for ICE operations in El Paso, where the Army base is located. (KFOX 14 in El Paso)
A detention facility constructed out of tents at Fort Bliss will begin housing migrants detained by federal agents on Aug. 17, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.
It will open with an operational capacity of 1,000 beds and can be expanded to 5,000, said Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for ICE operations in El Paso, where Fort Bliss is located. The facility, known as Camp East Montana, will house single adults who are in legal proceedings for removal from the U.S. or have final orders for deportation.
ICE “sorely needs” the space to keep pace with increased arrests and immigration enforcement, Zamarripa said.
Across the United States, ICE in July averaged roughly 57,800 adults in detention, according to agency data. That is about 1,000 more from the previous month and about 17,000 more than when President Donald Trump took office in January.
Trump has pushed for more arrests of migrants who are in the U.S. without authorization, leading the Department of Homeland Security to seek temporary facilities to house those arrested.
“ICE is using Camp East Montana to help decompress ICE detention facilities in other regions,” Zamarripa said.
ICE air operations will conduct deportations at the facility, she said.
Once the detention facility reaches its initial capacity of 1,000 people, it can scale up by 250 beds a week until it reaches 3,000, Zamarripa said. Those inside have access to everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers, including access to legal representation and a law library, access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals. It also provides necessary accommodations for disabilities, diet, and religious beliefs, she said.
The Army, which is responsible for managing the $1.24 billion contract for the ICE facility, awarded the job of building and operating the site to Virginia-based company Acquisition Logistics on July 18, according to the Pentagon. The contract runs through Sept. 30, 2027, and the Army has already funded $232 million for the work now underway.
While soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss are not involved with the operations of the facility, National Guard troops in 20 states, including Texas, are being asked to help ICE at detention facilities.
Up to 1,700 Guard troops could be activated by the end of August to work directly with migrants by providing transportation, processing those detained and other clerical and logistical work, according to the Pentagon.
