On Sunday, August 17, the U.S. federal government launched Camp East Montana, a new immigration detention center located inside Fort Bliss, a military base in the state of Texas. With an initial capacity of 1,000 beds, this facility was designed to house aliens who already have final orders of deportation issued by immigration authorities.
According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, this is a project that seeks to “streamline procedures” and relieve pressure on other immigration facilities in the country. However, the measure has raised alarms among civil rights advocates, who denounce that this type of center exposes migrants to extreme conditions and violations of basic rights.
Camp East Montana in Texas to house up to 5,000 detainees
Although Camp East Montana began operating with capacity for about 1,000 people, the federal plan calls for a gradual expansion to 5,000 beds.
That would make it one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country.
All facilities are composed of temporary tents, similar to those used by the Armed Forces in war zones.
Republican Senator John Cornyn, who visited the site last week, said that only people who already have a final order of deportation will be held there.
“These are people without legal recourse, who have no right to remain in the United States,” Cornyn stated.
Cornyn also stressed that the center should remain open to congressional and media scrutiny.
Extreme heat and worrying history
Organizations such as the ACLU of Texas have criticized the opening of the center.
They warn that the migrants will remain under high temperatures, typical of West Texas, without adequate infrastructure to protect them from the intense heat and other adverse conditions.
Attorney Savannah Kumar noted that Fort Bliss has a “shameful legacy,” having once been used to intern European and Japanese immigrants during World War II.
Most recently to detain unaccompanied minors, some of whom suffered documented abuse between 2016 and 2023.
“It is almost certain that the people detained there will have their basic rights violated as they remain in tents under the brutal West Texas sun,” Kumar added in an official statement.
Other bases prepare similar installations
Buzzy
The Texas immigration center is just one part of a broader strategy, following the opening of Florida’s Alcatraz Alligator.
The Pentagon has already approved the use of other military facilities for these purposes, including Camp Atterbury (Indiana) and McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (New Jersey).
In addition, it continues to send migrants to the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, a decision that has also generated strong criticism from human rights organizations.
The expansion of these facilities raises new questions about the treatment of migrants in federal custody.
As well as on the supervision mechanisms that exist to guarantee respect for their fundamental rights.
It is almost certain that the people detained there will have their basic rights violated as they remain in tents under the brutal West Texas sun
Savannah Kumar, lawyer
