The Trump administration is developing a plan to detain thousands of undocumented immigrants at military sites across the country. The move, which is designed to make up for a shortfall of space at immigration facilities, appears to be a significant expansion of efforts by President Trump to use wartime resources to carry out the mass deportations he promised.
Trump’s aides decided to begin at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas, where they are setting up a deportation hub that could eventually hold up to 10,000 migrants as they go through the process of being deported.
It could serve as a model for sites the administration aims to develop at bases in Utah, near Niagara Falls and several other locations. It is not clear how many immigrants could be held at the facilities, but the plans to rely on bases in more than a dozen states would be a major expansion of capacity.
Previous administrations have held some immigrants at military bases, most recently children who would then be released into the country to the care of relatives or friends. But the Trump administration plan would greatly expand that practice, and potentially redirect military resources to the president’s immigration goals.
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