Border Report – New ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss already holding 1,000 migrants

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – What will soon become the largest immigration detention facility in the United States is now up and running at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The $1.24 billion East Montana Detention Facility in Far East El Paso opened on Sunday and already is holding 1,000 individuals, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said on Monday.

The El Paso Democrat held a news conference just outside what she described as a “massive tent city” to question federal spending she says could be better utilized to improve quality of life in her community. She also disputed recent statements by fellow federal lawmakers that all the detainees are migrants with either criminal records or final deportation orders.

“No, Donald Trump’s massive deportation plan is not targeting the worst of the worst. No, this is not just for people with final deportation orders. I stress that because members of Congress have an obligation to provide accurate information to the public and I am very dismayed that are putting out information that is not accurate,” Escobar said.

Recently, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, also visited the facility. He said it provided a “humane” environment for migrants who had “no recourse left” to stay in the country after coming in illegally.

Escobar said she saw massive tents with hard floors and self-contained spaces called pods where detainees sleep, eat and pass the time while they wait to be removed from the country. She found a sophisticated medical facility capable of providing trauma care to the migrants and providing multiple health screenings daily.

Escobar said she did not get to speak to any of the migrants, described the facility’s conditions as humane but expressed concerned about its cost and is leery of the federal government “poaching” medical professionals from a community that does not have any to spare.

“When you think about the amount of money that is being funneled to this facility, I want you to think how much good that money could do in El Paso if it was spent on the community,” Escobar said. “If it was spent on access to child care, if it was spent on universal pre-K, if it was spend on health care. There is a tremendous amount of good that money could do for El Paso but it is instead being used to fund mass deportation by the Trump administraiton.”

Border Report reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for comment about the opening of the facility. Questions were referred to Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the East Montana Detention Facility is comparable to any other detention center in the country.

“The Fort Bliss facility will offer everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers including access to legal representation and a law library. Access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals. It also provides necessary accommodation for disabilities, diet and religious beliefs,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

Escobar said the migrants in Fort Bliss aren’t allowed in-person visits yet but stay in contact with lawyers and relatives through an electronic tablet they can check out inside. Only adult males are being housed at East Montana Detention Facility.

Some detainees are coming from as far away as Florida, some were recently detained either at the Mexican border or in the interior of the country, and some are elderly or need medical care for health conditions, Escobar said.

The El Paso congresswoman emphasized how the high cost of operations is quickly eating through its billion-dollar-plus budget.

In the middle of her news conference, she pointed to a tank-truck carrying potable water inside. Several other trucks ferrying supplies for the detainees and for construction crews passed by the road leading to the detention center in just a few minutes.

“See all it takes to operate this facility? It is very, very resource intensive,” Escobar said.

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