The tent camp, designed to hold 5,000 beds, would become the largest facility of its kind in the U.S., raising concerns among advocates who warn that such centers frequently fail to meet basic humanitarian standards.
The federal government has granted a contract to construct and manage a vast tent camp at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base in Texas, intended to serve as an immigrant detention facility.
As part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to significantly expand immigrant detention capacity, Fort Bliss in El Paso—spanning over one million acres and housing its own airport—is set to be transformed into a major deportation hub with 5,000 beds, according to a U.S. Department of Defense contract notice. This would make it the largest immigration detention facility in the nation.
The $1.26 billion contract for Fort Bliss was awarded to Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics Company through a federal program aimed at supporting small businesses, according to two sources familiar with the deal who requested anonymity due to the lack of public disclosure. The U.S. Army is contributing $232 million toward the project, according to a Defense Department notice. While The Wall Street Journal previously reported the contract's existence, it did not disclose the value or the recipient. Ken Wagner, president and CEO of Acquisition Logistics, declined to comment.
The Fort Bliss contract represents by far the largest award ever received by Acquisition Logistics, a company founded in 2008 by Ken Wagner, a retired Navy flight officer. According to Wagner’s LinkedIn profile, the firm specializes in supply chain management and other technical services, primarily for the U.S. military. Over the past five fiscal years, Acquisition Logistics has secured approximately $29 million in Defense Department contracts—mostly for logistics support—through programs reserved for small businesses, government records show.
Although the company appears to have no prior experience in detention operations, earlier this year the U.S. Army paid Acquisition Logistics over $5 million for "lodging and conference room services" in support of the agency’s efforts at the Southern Border under the Trump administration.
Immigrant advocates have raised concerns over the Fort Bliss contract’s reliance on tent-based detention, arguing that such facilities are unlikely to meet established federal standards.
“All the reasons why you and I live not in tents but in homes are going to inevitably come up in a facility that doesn’t offer people walls and floors and insulation,” Emma Winger, deputy legal director at the American Immigration Council, said of tent detention in general. She points to basic needs that are significantly harder to meet with tents: protection from the elements, adequate medical facilities, safe and clean food preparation and storage. “It’s very hard to imagine how soft-sided facilities could satisfy even the low detention standards that are reflected in ICE’s most recent standards.”
An official for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an email that the agency “is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity. This process does include housing detainees at certain military bases.”
This marks the second time this year the administration has awarded a contract for immigration detention at Fort Bliss. In April, a $3.8 billion contract was granted to Deployed Resources—a company that once specialized in music festival tents and has since shifted to working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, just days after the award, the contract was abruptly canceled with little explanation.
According to two sources familiar with the contract award, Acquisition Logistics estimated the cost of the Fort Bliss project at $1.26 billion in its application. It remains unclear why this amount is roughly one-third of the value previously proposed by Deployed Resources.
The Trump administration is urgently seeking additional detention capacity as its plan to arrest over one million immigrants annually has resulted in overcrowded—and at times unsafe—conditions in facilities nationwide. These deportation efforts have compelled the administration to look beyond traditional detention sites like jails and prisons for additional space.
This week, Human Rights Watch released a report revealing that detainees at three ICE facilities in South Florida reported sleeping on cold concrete floors without bedding, and that women were being compelled to use toilets in the presence of men, among other serious concerns.
Fort Bliss is not the only military base the Trump administration plans to use for immigrant detention. In a letter to Congress last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Department of Homeland Security would temporarily utilize military bases in New Jersey and Indiana for this purpose. Additionally, Trump has previously suggested detaining up to 30,000 immigrants at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In May, ICE identified 41 companies eligible to bid on billions of dollars’ worth of immigration detention contracts through an expedited "emergency acquisition" process designed to accelerate the construction of new facilities. However, the contract is currently on hold following protests from several companies regarding the solicitation process.
According to three sources familiar with the plans, at least four companies from that list will collaborate with Acquisition Logistics on the Fort Bliss project, providing construction, medical, security, and other operational support.
Many of the companies ICE selected in May specialize in so-called soft-sided facilities—essentially tents—indicating the administration’s likely intent to expand the use of temporary structures for immigration detention or staging. Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint shaping much of Trump’s second term, advocates for utilizing "low-level temporary capacity (for example, tents) once permanent space is full." It also calls for rolling back detention oversight—a move the administration has pursued—while aiming to lower national detention standards.
Problems have already surfaced at a new tent facility in the Florida Everglades, which was constructed in just eight days by a group of disaster response companies selected by the state. Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported issues including insects in food, inconsistent air conditioning that left detainees enduring sweltering heat, and malfunctioning toilets causing wastewater flooding. Florida officials have denied allegations of inhumane conditions. While the federal government has distanced itself from the tent camp—known as Alligator Alcatraz—Trump visited the facility on its opening day and suggested it could serve as a model for other states.
Photograph: US Air Force
