EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The federal government and the U.S. Army have “greenlighted” an immigration facility that would be established and built at Fort Bliss, the U.S. secretary for the Army said during a visit to the installation on Wednesday, March 26.
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said an “immigration facility” at Fort Bliss has been greenlighted and the process of getting it built would begin any day.
Driscoll spent the past two days talking to soldiers, leaders and visiting units at Fort Bliss and seeing first-hand the border operations with which the Army is involved.
It was part of a trip he took on the one-month anniversary of him becoming Army secretary.
On Feb. 21, the New York Times reported that Fort Bliss would be the site of a major “deportation hub” that could house up to 10,000 migrants.
Driscoll was asked if that was coming to fruition when he said that an immigration facility at Fort Bliss was moving forward.
Driscoll did not give any specifics on what the immigration facility would entail but said it would help to support local and federal partners who are involved with border operations.
Driscoll said that Fort Bliss’ location near the U.S.-Mexico border made it a “natural fit” to be a key player in border operations and President Trump’s focus on stemming the tide of illegal immigration into the country.
The immigration facility would be used to support efforts already being done along the border, Driscoll said.
He said in the past, Border Patrol would get “overwhelmed” dealing with the sheer number of people.
Someone in line, being processed, would call or text their friends and tell them, “Now is a good time to cross,” he said.
“It became a vicious cycle,” he said.
“What we are hoping to do is have enough facility and enough manpower, so they don’t at any point ever feel overwhelmed and incentivize more illegal crossings,” Driscoll said.
He had no timeframe on when this immigration facility would be up and running.
As for efforts to downsize the federal government by the Trump administration, Driscoll said that some other Army installations may see an impact on its civilian workforce, but it was highly unlikely that Fort Bliss would feel anything negative.
“I doubt it would impact a place like Fort Bliss much (and its civilian workforce). From a soldier perspective, I haven’t seen anything that would make me believe there will be downsizing here,” he said.
Driscoll called Fort Bliss a “gem” and one of the most important installations in the Army.
“I visited this place very briefly when I was a soldier. I had a friend who was stationed here. I had no idea how big it is here. They say, ‘You can fire a pistol to a missile here.’ What? Now that I see it, I totally get it,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll also said that the way Fort Bliss has integrated itself into the El Paso community could also set an example for the rest of the Army.
“Our soldiers have told us how kind and loving the community has been to them,” Driscoll said.
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