Pentagon announces construction of 5,000-bed immigration detention mega-center at Fort Bliss, Texas

The Pentagon announced Thursday the construction of a giant immigration detention center at Fort Bliss, Texas, which will have by the end of August, still in its initial phase, about 1,000 beds available.

Defense Department spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson was in charge of presenting the project during a press conference Thursday. The official said construction began in July and will soon have a capacity for 5,000 beds.

"Since then, work has begun for initial detainment capacity of 1,000 illegal aliens with initial operating capacity likely to be achieved by mid to late August," the spokeswoman said. "Once DOD achieves initial stand up, we will finish construction for up to 5,000 beds in the weeks and months ahead."

The announcement comes as the Trump Administration continues its campaign of mass deportations while combating illegal immigration with increasingly aggressive security policies.

It also comes just two days after Indiana Governor Mike Braun confirmed that the state will build an immigration facility dubbed "Speedway Slammer", which will take place at the Miami County Correctional Center, located between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.

The "Speedway Slammer," according to the announcement, will house up to 1,000 immigrants once operational.

"We are proud to work with President Trump and Secretary Noem as they remove the worst of the worst with this innovative partnership," Braun said in a statement. "Indiana is taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration and will continue to lead the way among states."

Both the Indiana 'Speedway Slammer' and the new complex at Fort Bliss join the recent opening of the massive facility in Florida known as 'Alligator Alcatraz', located in the remote and swampy Everglades. That center, retrofitted from a disused airport, has in the past month become a key point for the Trump administration's deportation operations, with rapidly expanding capacity and repatriation flights already underway. The facility is generating much controversy, legal battles and a lot of interest from various states that want to replicate its model.