Immigration and Customs Enforcement will open a large-scale detention facility at Fort Bliss in Texas on Aug. 17, part of President Donald Trump's push to carry out what officials call the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, The Hill reported.
ICE is preparing to begin operations at a new detention facility on the Fort Bliss military base near El Paso, Texas, later this month. The site will initially house 1,000 individuals who entered the United States illegally, with plans to expand to 5,000 beds over the next two years, according to the Department of Defense.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson described the project as historic in scale. "Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission — the deportation of illegal aliens," Wilson said Thursday.
The detention camp, known as Camp East Montana, is being built under a Department of Defense contract valued at up to $1.2 billion, according to Border Report. Once operational, the contractor will add capacity in phases, increasing by 250 beds per week until the facility reaches 3,000 beds, with further expansion to follow.
ICE will manage and operate the site, providing detainees access to legal representation, a law library and recreational space, officials said. The announcement comes as the Trump administration faces a series of legal challenges to its immigration policies.
On the same day, a federal judge in Florida temporarily halted construction of another detention site, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," located in the Everglades. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled the project had not complied with federal environmental laws. Immigration advocates hailed the decision, pointing to what they allege are inhumane conditions at similar facilities.
Despite opposition, the administration continues to expand detention capacity.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new facility in Miami County, Indiana, already nicknamed the "Speedway Slammer." The site, located approximately 75 miles from Indianapolis and the renowned Indiana Speedway, will add 1,000 detention beds through a state partnership.
"If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana's 'Speedway Slammer,'" Noem said, comparing it to the Everglades facility. She said the partnership would "help remove the worst of the worst out of our country."
DHS promoted the project on social media with a digitally altered image of an IndyCar-style race car bearing the ICE logo, shown speeding past a barbed-wire wall. Administration officials called the Indiana center the next "Alligator Alcatraz," underscoring their commitment to expanding detention capacity nationwide.
With Fort Bliss set to become the largest federal immigration detention site in history, the Trump administration's strategy signals an aggressive continuation of its immigration enforcement agenda, even as opponents mount legal and political resistance.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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