Plans to house thousands of migrant families in tent cities at the sprawling Fort Bliss military base in Texas have sparked outrage among locals, who fear a dangerous precedent. The base, larger than Rhode Island and situated on the outskirts of El Paso, is seen as ground zero for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Soldiers based at Fort Bliss believe construction of a temporary detention facility is imminent, according to a local soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Department of Defense (DoD) announced in late June that it would use Fort Bliss and Goodfellow Air Force Base to house migrants, but few details have since emerged. Activists say the government is running out of capacity to detain those crossing the border.
“Military bases are not meant to house children or migrants. This would set a dangerous precedent,” said Eli Beller of the Hope Border Institute, a grassroots group in El Paso. Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, warned that the administration’s limiting of asylum claims was turning the facilities into part of a “deportation machine”.
Hispanics make up 80% of El Paso’s population, and a quarter of residents were born abroad. Many reject the ethics of the policies, with up to 100 people marching last weekend against the militarisation of the border. The DoD says it remains on standby but had not received a formal request as of 8 October. Meanwhile, the nearby Tornillo detention centre for minors is near capacity, and immigration authorities recently released over 100 immigrants from an El Paso facility due to overcrowding.
