The Trump administration plans to build the nation’s largest federal migrant detention facility on a military base in Texas. The Pentagon confirmed the move on Thursday, Aug. 7, as the administration ramps up its use of the military to achieve its immigration policy goals.
“Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission– the deportation of illegal aliens,” Kingsley Wilson, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said during a press briefing.
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Camp East Montana
The facility, dubbed Camp East Montana, will reportedly be used as a short-term processing center.
The El Paso Times reported that the Pentagon awarded a contract to a Virginia-based company to run the detention facility last month.
The U.S. Department of Defense said that the first phase of the plan is to house 1,000 migrants at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, by Aug. 17 and then finish building the 5,000 bed facility in “the weeks and months ahead.”
While the facility is under construction, the Department of Homeland Security will hold detainees.
Around 100 migrants are already held at Camp East Montana, according to USA Today.
Trump’s immigration agenda
President Donald Trump has increased arrests of undocumented immigrants, enhanced surveillance at the southern border and removed the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Since taking office for his second term, Trump has flown migrants to Guantanamo Bay naval base. However, that effort has led to far fewer people detained at the base than previously planned.
Not a new tactic
Detaining migrants on military bases is also a tactic used by the Biden administration. Former President Joe Biden previously signed off on the housing of unaccompanied migrant children at military installations in Texas as well.
The Trump administration is also constructing other installations to house migrants, including a 1,000-bed facility in Indiana, dubbed “Speedway Slammer.”
Trump’s use of military for immigration enforcement
Trump has touted his administration’s efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border, including deploying active-duty troops and reconnaissance flights as the reason for a sharp drop in illegal border crossings. The president made immigration the signature issue of his 2024 campaign and now the number of migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has soared to record-highs in recent weeks. According to federal data, around 57,000 people are detained by the agency as of July 27.
Abbott celebrates plan
While Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has hailed the plans for Fort Bliss, the governor vowing that his state “will help arrest, jail & deport illegal immigrants,” in a post on X late last month, others are more skeptical.
Democrats and advocates raise concerns
Critics have raised concerns about detention centers on military bases lacking access to lawyers and basic needs of those detained.
Facilities, like “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades, have faced scrutiny, with former workers telling The Washington Post about unsanitary conditions and infestations of mosquitoes.
Democrats have argued that using military bases as a means for detentions raises “serious concerns about the diversion of critical defense resources from national security priorities.”
“While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will oversee care, this administration’s record on immigration detention centers demands close scrutiny,” Reps. Herbert Conaway Jr., D-N.J. and Donald Norcross, D-N.J., wrote to the Trump administration last month. “It is essential that constitutional rights are upheld and that detainees are treated with dignity and provided adequate medical care.”
Hegseth’s response
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth contended that detention facilities planned in Indiana and New Jersey “will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military operations.”
Some, however, disagree.
“You’ve got a base that is supposed to focus on war-fighting and training, and they’ve got thousands of people that have nothing to do with the military on the base,” Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney and former military officer, told The Washington Post. “It takes extensive resources that they should not have to deal with.”
