Image Credit: JUSTIN HAMEL / Contributor / Getty Images 
The Trump administration has awarded $1.26 billion to build the nation’s largest detention and deportation center, in Texas.
The center will be constructed at Fort Bliss, a million-acre site close to El Paso, on the Mexican border, with its own airport.
There will be room for 5,000 beds in heated and air-conditioned tents.
The contract has been awarded to Virginia-based company Acquisition Logistics, and over $200 million of the cost will be footed by the US Army.
An ICE official told Bloomberg that the federal government “is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity. This process does include housing detainees at certain military bases.”
A week ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the Department of Homeland Security will construct new detention facilities on other military bases, in Indiana and New Jersey.
Camp Atterbury in central Indiana and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey will be available “for temporary use by the Department of Homeland Security to house illegal aliens,” Sec. Hegseth said.
Since President Trump returned to the White House, his administration has added more than 60 new facilities for housing migrants set for deportation.
According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is rushing to expand its detention capacity, after receiving $45 billion in extra funding after the passing of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.
The goalis to expand capacity from 40,000 to 100,000 before the end of the year. This will be done, in part, by building a large network of tent camps nationwide.
ICE will also be offering a $50,000 bonus to former agents who rejoin, as it seeks to boost manpower in order to ramp up deportations.
“You served the United States of America with distinction and honor. Now, your country calls upon you to serve once more,” states an email sent by ICE to a retired employee and obtained by The New York Post.
“Due to the prior administration’s disastrous immigration policies, the men and women of ICE now face unprecedented challenges. Your experience and unwavering commitment are critically needed to secure our communities and uphold our laws.”
The details of the new deal, dubbed “Operation Return to Mission,” include the option for former employees to serve in their “current location and previous job series,” as well as the chance to receive a number of bonuses.
ICE will offer a signing bonus of $10,000 upon returning to service, another $10,000 for those who sign up before 1 August and three annual bonuses of $10,000.
Former agents will also be able to retain pension payments and benefits if they come out of retirement.
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill provided ICE with an extra $75 billion in funding, including $30 billion for arrest and deportation efforts and $45 billion to expand detention capacity.
