The Trump administration gestured towards a drastic plan to turn immigrants awaiting deportation at US military bases into prison.
More National Guards Leave Los Angeles
The Pentagon recalls the National Guard troops of about 1,300 from Los Angeles, with only a few hundred remaining following the anti-ice protests in June.
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WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says it wants Fort Bliss to be the “largest federal detention center in history” to retain immigrants, and will prepare Texas Army Base to house 1,000 detainees within weeks.
The military began building detention centers on the base in mid-July, with the goal of “early operational capabilities” for 1,000 detainees from mid- to late August, Pentagon spokesman Kingsley Wilson told reporters on August 7.
“When completed, this will become the largest federal detention center in the history of this important mission.”
The Trump administration gestured towards a drastic plan to turn immigrants awaiting deportation at US military bases into prison. Previously reported by USA Today, military officials screened bases across the country for possible immigration detention centres.
About 100 migrants have already been detained at Fort Bliss, an army base just outside El Paso, and Pentagon officials plan to increase that number to thousands for months.
Army Second Dan Driscoll announced plans during a visit to the base in late March, part of the USA Today network. The Department of Defense awarded a contract to a Virginia company on July 18 to operate the detention center.
In January, President Donald Trump ordered the military to detain up to 30,000 migrants at Guantanamo, a US military base in Cuba. Reports show that fewer than 1,000 migrants are currently being held at the naval base.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses has also approved the use of McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, joint base at Camp Attterbury, New Jersey and Indiana, to retain immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security initially requested that each base hold 1,000 immigrants on June 10, according to documents originally published by New Jersey Spotlight News. Guantanamo will accommodate 500 people, according to the request.
About 70 national security guards provide security and secure the boundary of a makeshift immigration detention center in the Everglades, Florida State Guard. On August 7, a federal judge ordered a 14-day suspension at the Everglades facility after environmental groups filed a lawsuit over what they called “serious threats” to the surrounding ecosystems, water and animal bodies.
