Largest migrant detention center planned at Fort Bliss
By Julian Paras
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EL PASO, Texas (KOAT) — 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.
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