EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed new detention centers will open in El Paso County, near Clint, but they’re not ready to announce them.
This comes after sources said the federal government had purchased warehouses located on Northeast Wind Avenue, near Clint, between I-10 and Darrington Road, which could house up to 8,500 detainees.
Rendering of the area where the new detention center will reportedly be located. Credit: CBRE
KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, and an ICE spokesperson confirmed the information, first saying that the new facilities won’t be warehouses but “very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.”
ICE then stressed that no one should be surprised by this development, as ICE agents “will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and [are] actively working to expand detention space.”
It appears, however, that ICE is not ready to formally announce these centers as the statement ended with, “We have no new detention centers to announce at this time.”
Below is ICE’s full statement:
These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.ICE is targeting the worst of the worst including murderers, rapists, criminals, gang members and more. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities. We have no new detention centers to announce at this time.
With a capacity for 8,500 detainees, these new facilities will house more migrants compared to Camp East Montana inside Fort Bliss, which is already the largest in the country with a capacity for 5,000.
RELATED: Minnesota detainees denied visitors at Fort Bliss following 3rd death at ICE facility
Site of new immigration detention facility on Fort Bliss (credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
Recently, Camp East Montana has been under fire by some political leaders and migrant advocates after three migrant deaths were reported in the facility and people have decried inhumane conditions.
El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar said she has been “sounding the alarm about Camp East Montana, a $1.24 billion privately operated immigration detention facility funded by American taxpayers since it opened. Among the consistent concerns from detainees has been the lack of access to necessary medication, retaliation, and a number of other issues.”
RELATED: Congresswoman seeks accountability for $1.24B spent on Fort Bliss detention camp
While DHS has repeatedly denied allegations of inhumane conditions, calling them “fearmongering clickbait.”
The written statement DHS repeatedly uses to respond to all accusations reads as follows:
No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States. Get a grip.
On Jan. 14, Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, was pronounced dead after Camp personnel found him unresponsive.
ICE stated it presumed the death was a suicide; the official cause is still under investigation.
READ MORE: 3rd death in ICE custody reported at Camp East Montana
On Jan. 3, Cuban migrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died in Camp East Montana.
According to a report by The Washington Post, Campos’ death might be ruled a homicide; the official results from the medical examiner’s office have yet to be released.
Meanwhile, DHS said Campos died after a struggle with staff during a suicide intervention.
READ MORE: Second migrant death reported at Fort Bliss detention center
On Dec. 3, 2025, the first death was reported when Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, died of liver and kidney failure.
READ MORE: Guatemalan man in ICE custody dies from suspected natural causes in El Paso hospital
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