The Trump administration’s plan to rapidly expand immigration detention capacity by tens of thousands of beds appears to have hit a roadblock. Initially, the plan was to add 30,000 beds at Guantánamo Bay, but when that fell through, a contract worth $3.8 billion was awarded to Deployed Resources to build a tent city at Fort Bliss. However, the contract was recently terminated, citing “radical transparency,” “wasteful spending,” and Trump’s executive order, though it is unclear if cost savings played a role. It is uncertain if the administration will seek another contractor for the project.
The lack of space to hold immigrants before deportation has been a challenge for Trump’s deportation efforts, as the tent city at Fort Bliss would have been the first ICE detention facility for Deployed Resources. The cancellation of the contract poses a challenge for the administration’s efforts to alleviate strains on the detention system, as currently, facilities exceed the approved number of detainees, potentially leading to a budget shortfall.
Brick-and-mortar ICE detention centers take longer to build than tent facilities but provide better long-term detainment. Maintaining tent facilities is challenging due to risks for migrants and officers, and they are less secure and provide difficulty in meeting court-mandated standards for conditions. This setback may impact the administration’s overall deportation efforts and highlights the challenges in quickly expanding detention capacity that meets federal court requirements.
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