President Donald Trump’s proposed migrant deportation detention site at Fort Bliss is set to begin construction in the coming weeks.
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- Construction of a new migrant deportation site at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is expected to begin soon.
- The facility will be located on the edge of Fort Bliss and will house up to 10,000 migrants.
- It is not yet clear whether the facility will be used to house migrant families.
Work to begin building a new, massive migrant deportation site at El Paso’s Fort Bliss is imminent, the U.S. Secretary of the Army said.
U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll visited Fort Bliss and El Paso on March 25 and 26, where he said that the process to establish the immigration deportation site has received the green light, meaning that preparation could begin in the coming days.
“The process of preparing it and getting it ready to be built out will start to occur any day,” Driscoll said. “This is such an incredibly important mission. We believe to keep the American people safe.”
Driscoll spoke to reporters during a brief news conference in a meeting room at Million Air El Paso, a privately-held aviation company.
The site will be on the periphery of Fort Bliss’ federal land.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense must approve the proposal before construction can begin, Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert, public affairs advisor, said.
The Secretary of the Army could not confirm whether the facility would be used for family units, single males, women, or unaccompanied minors. The Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, will operate the facility.
The DHS joint information center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news of the deportation detention site was first reported by the New York Times in February. The site is set to house 10,000 migrants awaiting deportation.
President Donald Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations and reverse Biden-era immigration policy. These rollbacks include the elimination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, and the end of a separate parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:[email protected];@palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.