The Trump administration awarded more than a billion-dollar contract to build the largest illegal immigrant detention center in U.S. history. The decisive move aimed to restore law and order, manage the surge of illegal immigration, and ensure that those crossing the border unlawfully are correctly processed and held.
The Trump administration announced a $1.26 billion contract to build the largest migrant detention and deportation center in the United States at Fort Bliss, Texas. Spanning over 1.12 million acres near the U.S.-Mexico border and including an airport, the facility is designed to house up to 5,000 detainees. It will serve as a key deportation hub for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The center will feature climate-controlled tents, equipped with heating and air conditioning. Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics Company won the contract, with $232 million of the funding provided by the U.S. Army.
The federal government “is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bed space capacity. This process does include housing detainees at certain military bases," an ICE agent said.
This announcement follows Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s statement that the Department of Homeland Security plans to establish new detention and deportation centers at military bases in Indiana and New Jersey. During the first six months of President Trump’s second term, 60 additional facilities have been added to the list of locations used to house illegal immigrants awaiting deportation. Hegseth emphasized that allocating military space for immigration enforcement will not harm military training, operations, readiness, or affect the capabilities of the National Guard and Reserve.