EL PASO, TX — Today, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and immigrant rights advocates in El Paso to condemn the Trump administration’s plan to convert Fort Bliss into the nation’s largest immigration detention camp. The proposed tent camp—projected to cost taxpayers $1.26 billion—could hold up to 5,000 people, exposing them to inhumane conditions.
More than 700 contract workers are already stationed at Fort Bliss. That’s proof Trump is putting his friends first and turning detention into a payday. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people are being held without access to something as basic as a legal library. This isn’t about safety or justice. It’s about profit.
“What I saw today was a dangerous misuse of military land and resources to cage human beings,” said Rep. Crockett. “This attempt doesn’t make our country safer, it wastes taxpayer dollars, rips families apart, and takes us backwards as a nation.”
Fort Bliss has a documented history of being used to detain people unjustly, including Japanese Americans during World War II. Rep. Crockett noted the disturbing parallels and vowed to continue fighting against Trump’s attempts to repeat that history.
“Texas knows this history all too well, and we refuse to let it happen again,” Crockett added. “Instead of pouring millions into mass detention, we should be fixing our broken immigration system in ways that respect people’s rights and dignity.”
