RIGHT HERE ON KOAT. TO OUR OTHER BIG STORY TODAY A MASSIVE IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTER IS BEING UTILIZED AT FORT BLISS IN EL PASO, TEXAS. BUT THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE SURROUNDING THAT FACILITY THERE. JULIAN PARAS IS FOLLOWING THE STORY AND EXPLAINS HOW NEW MEXICO IS INVOLVED. YOU JOIN US RIGHT HERE IN STUDIO JULIAN. WELL, THE ACLU OF NEW MEXICO AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS GATHERED IN EL PASO TODAY SPEAKING ABOUT THE DETENTION CAMP. THEY ARGUE THIS IS A MISUSE OF MILITARY RESOURCES AND WILL ULTIMATELY HARM SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. BUT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED WILL BE DETENTION FACILITY THAT HOLDS 5000 PEOPLE. THAT NUMBER OF UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS WILL MAKE CAMP EAST OF MONTANA AT FORT BLISS, THE LARGEST MIGRATION DETENTION CENTER IN THE UNITED STATES. ON THURSDAY, THE ACLU AND OTHER IMMIGRATION ADVOCACY GROUPS GATHERING TO CONDEMN THIS CAMP. THEY SAY EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS. SADLY, THAT INCLUDES THE SCALE OF CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE TO ENDURE. THE COST OF THIS DETENTION CENTER IS EXPECTED TO BE AN ESTIMATED $1.26 BILLION, COVERING AREAS OF EL PASO, TEXAS, BUT ALSO OTERO AND DONA ANA COUNTY IN NEW MEXICO. DURING WORLD WAR TWO, THE MILITARY BASE ALSO STATIONED INTERNMENT CAMPS HOLDING JAPANESE AMERICANS IN CUSTODY. ORGANIZERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MIGRANTS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF ON THIS BASE. HOWEVER, THE CONCERN IS THAT WHEN THESE FACILITIES FIRST OPEN UP, MEDICAL IS ALWAYS ADEQUATE, AND THEN ONCE THEY REACH THEIR CAPACITY, THE MEDICAL CARE QUICKLY FALLS TO THE WAYSIDE. BUT REPUBLICANS SAY OTHERWISE. THESE ARE HUMANE, SAFE FACILITIES AND IN MANY INSTANCES, A VAST IMPROVEMENT OVER WHAT MANY OF THESE FOLKS ARE USED TO. REPUBLICAN TEXAS SENATOR JOHN CORNYN SAYS PEOPLE BEING DETAINED ARE NOT BEING TAKEN FOR NO REASON. ACCORDING TO ICE, 50% OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING HELD HAVE SOME TYPE OF CRIMINAL RECORD. RIGHT NOW, THAT BASE CAN HOLD A TOTAL OF 1000 UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS. IT’S EXPECTED TO HOLD 5000 BY 2027. CORNYN HAS SAID PEOPLE BEING HELD A
Largest migrant detention center planned at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss in Texas is set to become the largest migrant detention center in the U.S. Multiple advocacy groups have come forward to condemn this investment.
Updated: 4:18 PM MDT Aug 21, 2025
Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is set to become the largest migrant detention center in the United States, with plans to hold 5,000 migrants lacking permanent legal status by 2027. This investment has drawn criticism from advocacy groups over potential human rights violations.”They say everything is bigger in Texas,” Samantha Singleton, policy director for the Border Network for Human Rights, said. “Sadly, that includes the scale of civil and human rights violations our communities have to endure.”The estimated cost of the detention center is $1.26 billion, covering areas in El Paso, Texas, as well as Otero and Dona Ana counties in New Mexico. The military base has a historical precedent, having stationed internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. Organizers have expressed concerns about the care migrants will receive at the facility.”The concern is that when these facilities first open up, medical is always adequate, then once they reach their capacity, the medical care quickly falls to the wayside,” Estrella Del Paso Executive Director Melissa Lopez said. Republicans, however, have a different perspective. “These are humane, safe facilities, and in many instances, a vast improvement over what many of these folks are used to,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said. Republican New Mexico State Representative Elaine Sena Cortez told KOAT in a statement, “Expecting the Trump administration to ignore the millions of illegal immigrants let into our Country by the Biden administration is offensive to the millions of people, like those in my and my husband’s family, that legally migrated by honoring our laws.”Cornyn emphasized that the detentions are justified. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 50% of the people currently held have some criminal record. Currently, the base can hold a total of 1,000 migrants lacking permanent legal status, with plans to expand to 5,000 by 2027.
EL PASO, Texas —
Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is set to become the largest migrant detention center in the United States, with plans to hold 5,000 migrants lacking permanent legal status by 2027. This investment has drawn criticism from advocacy groups over potential human rights violations.
“They say everything is bigger in Texas,” Samantha Singleton, policy director for the Border Network for Human Rights, said. “Sadly, that includes the scale of civil and human rights violations our communities have to endure.”
The estimated cost of the detention center is $1.26 billion, covering areas in El Paso, Texas, as well as Otero and Dona Ana counties in New Mexico. The military base has a historical precedent, having stationed internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. Organizers have expressed concerns about the care migrants will receive at the facility.
“The concern is that when these facilities first open up, medical is always adequate, then once they reach their capacity, the medical care quickly falls to the wayside,” Estrella Del Paso Executive Director Melissa Lopez said.
Republicans, however, have a different perspective.
“These are humane, safe facilities, and in many instances, a vast improvement over what many of these folks are used to,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.
Republican New Mexico State Representative Elaine Sena Cortez told KOAT in a statement, “Expecting the Trump administration to ignore the millions of illegal immigrants let into our Country by the Biden administration is offensive to the millions of people, like those in my and my husband’s family, that legally migrated by honoring our laws.”
Cornyn emphasized that the detentions are justified. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 50% of the people currently held have some criminal record. Currently, the base can hold a total of 1,000 migrants lacking permanent legal status, with plans to expand to 5,000 by 2027.