The administration led by Trump is accelerating initiatives to detain undocumented immigrants at military locations throughout the United States, marking a significant enhancement of efforts by the White House to utilize wartime resources in fulfilling the president’s commitment to mass deportations.
According to three officials knowledgeable about the plan, President Trump’s team is creating a deportation center at Fort Bliss, located near El Paso, Texas, with a potential capacity to hold up to 10,000 undocumented immigrants as they undergo deportation processing.
Fort Bliss is intended to be a prototype as the administration intends to establish additional detention centers on military sites nationwide—from Utah to the vicinity of Niagara Falls—to accommodate thousands more individuals and compensate for a shortage of space at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, the officials stated, requiring anonymity to discuss aspects of a plan that remains in its formative stages and is not yet confirmed.
Past administrations have detained some immigrants at military bases, most recently involving children who were later placed in the care of relatives or friends within the country. These bases acted as a temporary solution when the federal government’s shelter system for migrant children was at capacity.
However, the plan under the Trump administration seeks to extend this practice by creating a national network of military detention sites for immigrants facing deportation. This proposal signifies a substantial escalation in the militarization of immigration enforcement, following Mr. Trump’s clear intention upon entering office to increasingly rely on the Pentagon to limit immigration.
For officials within Trump’s administration, this initiative addresses a significant lack of space for detaining the numerous individuals they aim to arrest and deport. Nonetheless, it raises serious concerns regarding the potential impact on military resources and training schedules. According to military officials, the ramifications will depend on the scale of arrests and the duration of detainee custody. Advocates for immigrants note a troubling history of inadequate conditions for those held in military facilities.
Gil Kerlikowske, former commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, asserted that military facilities are not structured for such an undertaking.
“It’s quite unusual,” remarked Mr. Kerlikowske. “Maintaining security for the individuals is labor-intensive and potentially resource-draining.”
Mr. Trump has positioned the promise of mass deportation as a central theme of his presidency, capitalizing on a shift in American voters’ attitudes towards immigration across party lines.
Thus far, the Pentagon has deployed 5,000 active-duty troops and National Guard members to support the Border Patrol at the southern border, with intentions to double that figure in the forthcoming weeks.
Additionally, a small number of migrants were transported to Guantánamo Bay, but they were all relocated to other countries this week. The administration has released images and videos promoting Mr. Trump’s crackdown, including close-ups of immigrants in restraints.
However, the current rate of immigrant arrests does not yet warrant filling a nationwide network of military facilities. ICE officers made over 15,000 arrests from January 21 to February 13, as reported by the Department of Homeland Security, averaging nearly 700 arrests daily—marking an increase from the typical rate in recent years, including during the Biden administration, but still falling short of the expectations of White House officials.
It remains uncertain how many immigrants would be accommodated at the various military facilities, as the Trump administration is expected to develop new tent encampments in the surrounding areas. Nevertheless, plans to utilize military sites in over a dozen states would significantly broaden detention capacity.
Certain military facilities, such as Fort Bliss, are better equipped to accommodate migrants due to past experiences with detaining individuals there. However, a sudden influx of thousands could strain the perimeter security resources available. The military may need to bolster security at these bases, potentially interfering with regular duties and scheduled training sessions.
Officials plan to initially detain just 1,000 immigrants at Fort Bliss within the first phase of the expansion, though it could ultimately hold significantly more. The Trump administration has already begun relocating some individuals to Fort Bliss in preparation for their deportation.
Inquiries regarding the plan were directed by the White House to the Defense and Homeland Security Departments, which did not respond. Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff, reiterated the president’s intent to continue leveraging Defense Department resources for immigration enforcement.
“He has reactivated Guantánamo Bay and is utilizing military aircraft for deportations throughout the country,” Mr. Miller stated during a White House press briefing. “Illegally entering the country is not tolerated.”
Fort Bliss was selected as the starting location for the expansion following a visit from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the troops stationed there earlier this month.
When asked about the plans to house migrants and deportees at U.S. military bases and the related expenses, Mr. Hegseth emphasized: “All Defense Department assets necessary to aid the expulsion and detention of individuals residing in our country illegally are available for use.”
Once the administration completes its evaluation of detentions at Fort Bliss over the next two months, it is contemplating expanding the detention of migrants at military installations. These could include Air Force bases along the border, as well as locations in Florida, New Jersey, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington, Northern California, and near Niagara Falls in upstate New York, aimed at facilitating immigration enforcement in areas across the nation, according to federal officials.
The Trump administration faces a shortage of detention beds to accommodate immigrants due to budgetary constraints. Consequently, ICE has generally maintained an average of around 40,000 individuals in private prisons and local detention facilities nationwide in recent weeks, down from more than 50,000 during the earlier Trump administration. Utilizing military resources and facilities creates immediate access to beds for holding immigrants shortly after their arrest by ICE agents.
“They’re depleting current ICE facilities; they’re running out of available bed space,” remarked Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former policy advisor for Customs and Border Protection.
Detaining migrants at facilities such as Fort Bliss has previously drawn scrutiny over how the federal government treats immigrants.
After the Biden administration accommodated thousands of migrant children at the facility, an internal watchdog for the Department of Health and Human Services discovered that the children and teenagers experienced distress and panic attacks stemming from insufficient resources and inadequate training from officials. Some migrants faced detention for up to two months before their release into the United States. Several former U.S. immigration officials privately expressed concern that the administration’s strategy to utilize military bases could set the stage for an extended detention of migrants.
Currently, Trump administration officials maintain that the military bases will be used strictly as temporary holding facilities prior to deportation.
Reporting was contributed by Reyes Mata III at the U.S.-Mexico border and Helene Cooper in Washington.
