Overview

• The $1.2 billion facility began operations this past weekend with about 1,000 beds and, according to the Defense Department, is slated to reach 5,000 beds, which would make it the largest U.S. immigration detention site.
• Japanese American organizations condemn the move, citing Fort Bliss’s World War II role detaining people of Japanese, German and Italian descent, with leaders calling the parallels unacceptable.
• A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejects comparisons to internment, saying the characterization is inaccurate and asserting ICE focuses on violent offenders and gang members.
• Independent data show roughly 70% of about 59,380 people in ICE detention as of Aug. 10 had no criminal conviction, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
• Critics underscore Fort Bliss’s prior use as a child intake site and 2021 allegations of staff misconduct toward minors, as Rep. Veronica Escobar and the ACLU question oversight and the role of private contractors.