Trump administration opens largest migrant detention center

(NewsNation) — As the federal government continues large-scale deportations of undocumented migrants, a new milestone was accomplished on Sunday.

The Trump administration opened what it calls the largest federal migrant-detention center in the country’s history in Fort Bliss, Texas, under a $1.2 billion Defense Department contract.

Dubbed “Lone Star Lockup,” the facility holds 1,000 beds with a plan to expand to 5,000 beds by 2027. Inside are legal access and medical treatment areas, and recreational space — amenities that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say make it like a “traditional” facility.

Supporters of the detention center, like Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, say it will help ease overcrowding at other facilities and serve as a processing hub, sending migrants with final removal orders directly onto ICE air flights back to their home countries.

“Fort Bliss is an amazing military facility,” Gonzales said. “Everything thrown their way, they’ve handled. We should be supporting this, not attacking it.”

The project does have its critics.

“That money will enrich private contractors. Imagine what one billion could do for health care or law enforcement here in El Paso,” Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas said.

The new Fort Bliss facility joins Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” as the latest migrant detention facility to get pushback. Critics have alleged the facility suffers from flooding, unsanitary conditions, and even deaths.

Officials insist no one has died there and deny reports of worms in food or sewage flooding, asserting that the facility meets federal detention standards.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already unveiled a second site he’s nicknaming the “Deportation Depot.” The facility is inside a former state prison and staffed in part by the Florida National Guard.

It is expected to hold up to 2,000 detainees.