US Opens Largest ICE Detention Site at Former WWII Internment Camp

The Trump administration has opened a $1.2 billion immigration detention center at Fort Bliss, Texas, which has a capacity of 5,000 detainees, making it the largest in the United States. This facility, known as the "Lone Star Lockup," is located on a military base that historically served as a World War II internment site for Japanese, German, and Italian civilians, an association that has sparked significant criticism and outcry. Advocates, politicians, and descendants of internment survivors warn that the detention center's harsh desert conditions, isolation, and militarized enforcement echo past injustices and raise humanitarian concerns. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Japanese American National Museum have condemned the site, highlighting disturbing parallels to the forced incarcerations during WWII and expressing alarm over the militarization and lack of transparency in immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security has dismissed these comparisons as "deranged and lazy," defending the detention center as necessary for managing immigration under President Trump's mass deportation policies. Local officials and representatives also call for greater accountability and transparency, emphasizing the facility's impact on detainees' legal and familial connections.