Fort Bliss Detention Center Draws Outrage for Echoes of Japanese American Incarceration: 'Inconceivable'

A new immigrant detention center at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, opened on Sunday, immediately drawing criticism from Japanese American advocacy groups, who've noted the historical parallels between the facility and the military base's use during World War II, when it held Japanese, German, and Italian nationals considered "enemy aliens."

The East Montana Detention Facility is expected to reach a capacity of 5,000, making it the largest federal immigration detention site in the United States

Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum, told NBC News on Wednesday that, "it is inconceivable that the United States is once again building concentration camps, denying the lessons learned 80 years ago." Burroughs went on to that the comparisons between the immigrant detention facility of the present and the internment camp of the past are "neither deranged nor lazy," in response to comments made by Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin:

"Entire communities, over 125,000 Japanese Americans, were forcibly removed from the West Coast in 1942 and today our immigrant brothers and sisters face the terror of ICE and CBP raids across the country. It was a miscarriage of justice then, and it is a miscarriage of justice now"

The American Civil Liberties Union also noted the historic parallels a damning statement against the facility published on Sunday, the same day of its inauguration:

"This expansion marks another shameful chapter in Fort Bliss' history, as the facility was used to intern German and Italian immigrants and people of Japanese descent during World War II, and later used to detain unaccompanied children in 2016 and from 2021 to 2023, where some were subjected to severe abuse"

Besides he aforementioned comments about comparisons to World War II being "deranged and lazy," McLaughlin also defended the facility in her statement to NBC News, claiming it is comparable to other ICE detention centers and designed to provide legal representation, medical care, recreational space, and accommodations for disabilities, dietary, and religious needs.

"The facts are ICE is targeting the worst of the worst—including murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, and rapists," added McLaughlin.

The $1.24 billion facility in Far East El Paso opened on Sunday and is already holding 1,000 individuals, as Border Report pointed out.