‘Shameful’: Democrats join calls for closure of Texas Immigration Prison | U.S. Immigration

Famous Democratic lawmakers and legal advocates call for new immigrants Detention camp In Fort Bliss, military bases are accused of lack of external oversight and concerns about access to legal services.

The Eastern Montana Camp began full operation last weekend and is a sprawling tent facility spread across acres of military land east of El Paso. United States-Mexico border In the West TexasAmidst rapid expansion plans and many controversies.

Republicans are known as the “Lone Star Lock” and the new facility currently accommodates about 1,000 men’s beds. It will expand its price to 5,000 beds, and cost about $1.24 billion Private Contractmake it the biggest In the level Immigration detention centers that have worked overtime in the United States.

By conducting integrated operations on deportation flights, the Texas military complex will turn part of itself into Deportation Center Expected to be a tough right for Donald Trump Anti-immigration agenda.

After a brief tour of the site on Thursday, Texas “What I’m seeing today is the dangerous abuse of military land and resources to shroud humanity. This attempt won’t make our country safer, it wastes taxpayers’ money, tear the families apart, separates us and rewines us into a country.”

Veronica Escobar, a Democratic El Paso, called the new camp “massive” and condemned the $1.2 billion price when the amount could boost urban public services in El Paso. She told local media Strains In the city’s resources.

Sandstorms often occur in thermometers in the 90s Fahrenheit or higher in summer, and it is unclear how to manage the conditions of detainees.

“We demand an immediate closure of Eastern Montana,” said Samantha Singleton, director of cyber policy at the border of human rights.

“The opening of the country’s largest ice detention center is seen as a ribbon-cutting ceremony,” she said. Trump administrationan event worth celebrating when it should cause alarm, moments of reflection, and call for change to the fortress. ”

She added: “Using military bases for immigration detention is a shame to the values ​​of our city and our country” and called for “strict supervision” and promised “we will record all abuse.”

ICE, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said East Montana will serve as a short-term processing site to “decompress” other detention centers Accelerate arrest And they will be deported through ice and air operations.

The camp was built under a contract from the Department of Defense. The Henrico County, Virginia-based acquisition logistics received an initial contract of $231.8 million to establish and operate the facility, and the ICE will manage the facility, federal agencies say, in line with its detention standards.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for public affairs, issued a statement saying that the Trump administration is conducting mass deportations “at turbine speed.”

“The Brisburg facility will provide everything that traditional ice detention centers offer, including access to legal representation and legal libraries, access, entertainment spaces, medical spaces and nutritionally balanced meals. It also provides necessary accommodation for disability, diet and religious beliefs.”

Crockett said she introduced her observations to several immigration rights advocates in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and southern New Mexico because some legal advocates were unable to meet with detainees.

Fort Bliss was used during Trump’s first term to detain children separated from his family and in 2021, under the Biden administration, said the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Government investigators report Children detained at the base suffered emotional distress due to insufficient staffing and care. Children are detained under the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services, while the now detained adults are held by ICE.

The base was used for detention during World War II and detaining Mexican refugees under harsh conditions, which the ACLU calls “a statistical site for policies driven by cruelty and exclusion” and Camp East Montana “another dark chapter.”

Friday Florida appeal The court ordered another highly controversial detention camp in the Everglades called Crocodile Taras.

Osvaldo Grimaldo is a policy and advocacy strategist for the border and immigration rights of ACLU, Texas.

ICE has committed to providing legal representation. But Grimaldo said there was no guarantee.

“When people are locked in remote facilities, away from courts and remote facilities away from families, legal representation becomes an empty promise,” he said.

Melissa Lopez, executive director of social services organization Estrella del Paso, said she was worried that the camps would be filled, medical services and care for detainees would “straight down to the roadside”, adding that the rapidly constructed camps were shocked by us, shocked by us, shocked by due process and shocked by basic humanity…”.

John Cornyn, a Republican Congressman in Texas, said the facility would be used for people who ended up expelling orders, as well as those who were criminally convicted as short-term treatment locations before being expelled from the United States. He promised that there would be traditional congressional oversight.

Under the second Trump administration, Fort Bliss has been used to deport from military aircraft to Guantanamo Bay and Central and South America.

“We already know that using military bases for mass detention is a waste, intentionally cruel and unnecessary. But we are here.”

“It’s really about targeting people, racial profiles and numbers to meet quotas, which ignores any right to human beings and to be a dignified person,” she said.