An entrance to Fort Bliss in Texas on June 25, 2018. Credit - Joe Raedle—Getty Images
A detention center that is poised to become the largest of its kind in the country opened on a military base in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend, amid concerns over safety, costs, and a lack of transparency.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began detaining people on Sunday at the Fort Bliss facility, dubbed “Lone Star Lockup” by its supporters, in what it said was an effort to “decompress ICE detention facilities in other regions.”
More than $1 billion will be invested in the detention center to expand its current 1,000-bed capacity to hold up to 5,000 people. Immigrants who are currently in removal proceedings or final removal orders are expected to be detained at the facility.
ICE said it hoped the facility would “streamline and expedite removal processes, which is one of the Trump administration’s priorities."
The opening of the detention center comes amid broader efforts by the Administration to militarize immigration enforcement through the use of U.S. military bases and personnel. Last week, President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers to call in the National Guard and take control of the police in Washington, D.C., due to claims about rampant crime in the city—despite a reported decline in crime rates. Nearly half of the around 300 arrests reported by the White House targeted undocumented immigrants, according to the Washington Post.
And earlier this year, the President called the National Guard in Los Angeles following a series of protests by immigration advocates who opposed the raids that swept through the city.
At least two more military bases will be used to detain undocumented immigrants, per the ACLU.
Construction of the detention center faced numerous setbacks due to canceled contracts and concerns about improper bidding, according to NBC News.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to TIME. “ICE is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity. This process does include partnering with states and local government and housing detainees at certain military bases, including Fort Bliss.”
Here’s what to know about Lone Star Lockup.
ICE says this will be 'the largest federal immigration detention center in history'—but more mega facilities are being built
“Lone Star Lockup” could become the largest federal immigration detention center in the country. But it's just one of several new mega facilities that have recently opened, or are expected to open, as part of the Trump Administration's mass deportation plan.
A Washington Post report found that ICE plans on adding more than 41,000 detention beds in 2025 through partnerships with private prison contractors, reliance on military bases, and revival of prisons that may have halted services. The agency is looking at constructing “soft-sided” facilities that can be built and taken down rapidly. Detention facilities will double in scope in Texas, which will be able to house $38,000 people by the end of the year.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill has provided historic funding to help us carry out this mandate, especially by securing enough detention capacity to maintain an average daily population of 100,000 illegal aliens and 80,000 new ICE beds,” McLaughlin said in a statement. The bill marked the largest detention and deportation investment in U.S. history, per the American Immigration Council. Forty-five billion dollars were allocated for immigration detention in July, marking a 265% budget increase to ICE’s detention budget.
The base has a troubling history
The construction of the center adds to the military base’s deep history of contributing to the immigration policy of the U.S. Fort Bliss was initially established following the end of the Mexican-American War to “defend” the Southern border. The base later served as an internment camp housing both foreign nationals and U.S. citizens of Japanese descent during World War Two. More than 100,000 people were sent to various relocation centers across the U.S. in the 1940s.
Fort Bliss more recently served as an emergency shelter for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children during the Obama and Biden Administrations. In 2021, two federal employees filed a whistleblower complaint regarding the conditions of the center, citing mismanagement of childcare and public health and safety concerns.
Today, more than 36,000 military members live on the base, along with some 36,000 retirees, and their families.
Opinions on the use of Fort Bliss for immigrant detainment have generally fallen along party lines. Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas praised Fort Bliss and referred to it as an “amazing military facility” while announcing his support for the center. Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas addressed ongoing criticism of the center by stating that the people being taken to the center would not be “gardeners or housekeepers.” He added: "These are people who didn't show up to court-ordered hearings. There is no due process concern. They have no legal right to be here."
The Trump Administration initially claimed that the scope of its mass deportation would focus on criminals and violent offenders. An estimate by the Mississippi Free Press based on public Customs and Border Protection data shows that as of June 29, 72% of people detained by ICE had no criminal convictions.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas criticized the use of federal funding for the construction of the center. "I want you to think about how much good that money could do in El Paso if it were spent on the community, if it were spent on access to child care for El Paso kids, if it were spent on universal pre-K for El Paso kids, if it were spent on health care for El Pasoans,” she said on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $232 million up-front contract to Acquisition Logistics LLC to build the facility, which has a tent-style structure. Construction is expected to be completed by September 2027, per the Texas Tribune.
Immigration officials told TIME that the facility will have all the amenities of a traditional facility, including legal representation, a law library, visitation opportunities, and a place for recreation and medical treatment. “It also provides necessary accommodations for disabilities, diet, and religious beliefs,” McLaughlin said.
Immigration advocates sound alarms
The opening of the facility was greeted by protestors calling on the Administration to ensure detainees have access to the facilities they are entitled to. Activists have sounded the alarm on the new Texas detention center, citing concerns about hot summer temperatures and potential poor conditions of the center. Some have pointed to similarities with “Alligator Alcatraz,” a detention camp in the Florida Everglades. Two legal challenges against the Florida center have been filed due to reported inhumane conditions and lack of access to legal counsel for detainees.
The ACLU has argued that Fort Bliss’s location in a remote area will impose similar difficulties for immigrant detainees. The organization specifically points to limited communication with legal counsel and families, and limited access to medical care. “Isolating people on military bases heightens the risk of abuse and neglect,” the organization said.
Sen. Cornyn, who toured the facility, has denied such concerns and informed KFOX14 that Lone Star Lockup would be “humane, safe facilities and a vast improvement of what these folks are used to.”
El Paso County Commissioner Jackie Butler introduced a resolution in early August opposing the development of the Fort Bliss migrant center unanimously passed. "The people of El Paso deserve transparency when a billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded facility is placed in their backyard," said Butler. "We don't know who will staff this facility. We don't know how detainees will be treated. And we don't know how our local law enforcement, infrastructure, and community services will be affected. That's unacceptable."
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