ACLU

08/18/2025

Fort Bliss, in El Paso, will hold up to 5,000 people in the base’s new tent camp. The military base is home to 90,000 service members and their families. Opened at the height of the Texas summer, where temperatures regularly soar above 100 degrees and sandstorms are frequent, detainees are at serious risk of heat-related illness and other harsh conditions. In response, local elected officials in El Paso have already passed a resolution demanding transparency and accountability from the federal government.

Built behind the walls of a military installation and away from public view, the facility is a calculated move to militarize immigration enforcement, reduce transparency, and fast-track deportations with minimal accountability.
Opening an immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss is just the latest step in President Donald Trump’s dystopian plan to detain and deport millions. In the coming months, the administration plans to open detention camps on at least two more military bases, with additional troops being deployed to support

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations nationwide. This coordinated use of the military to carry out a deportation agenda is unprecedented, and deeply dangerous. It’s a tactic straight out of the authoritarian playbook, and we cannot let it go unchallenged.