‘Lone Star Lockup’: Trump admin opens largest immigration detention center in US

Desmond Milligan · August 18

(NewsNation) — As the federal government continues large-scale deportations of undocumented migrants, the Trump administration has opened what it calls the largest federal immigration detention center in the country’s history.

The facility, dubbed “Lone Star Lockup,” opened Sunday in Fort Bliss, Texas, under a $1.2 billion Defense Department contract.

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

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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.”

An entrance to Fort Bliss is shown on June 25, 2018 in Fort Bliss, Texas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The project does have its critics, including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas).

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

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas called the opening of the facility a “shameful” milestone in Trump’s “dystopian agenda.”

“People detained there will almost certainly have their basic rights violated while caged in tents under the brutal West Texas sun, with extreme heat that puts their lives at risk,” Savannah Kumar, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, remarked of the opening. “This is not just dangerous — it’s cruel.”

Last week, the El Paso County Commissioners Court also unanimously approved a resolution opposing the facility, Nexstar’s KTSM reported. The measure calls for more transparency, including formal briefings from federal agencies and access for local officials and community advocates.

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The new Fort Bliss facility joins Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” as the latest migrant detention facility to get pushback. Critics have alleged that 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.

Diana Castillo of Nexstar’s KTSM contributed to this report.

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