Japanese American Groups Blast Use Of Fort Bliss, Former Internment Camp Site, As Ice Detention Center

Japanese American groups criticized nan building of a caller migrant detention halfway successful Texas astatine a subject guidelines that was utilized during World War II to imprison group of Japanese descent.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention halfway astatine Fort Bliss successful El Paso, which opened this past weekend, will beryllium capable to clasp arsenic galore arsenic 5,000 detainees upon its completion successful nan coming months, making it nan largest national detention halfway successful U.S. history. Japanese American advocates, however, opportunity that nan facility, which erstwhile imprisoned group considered “enemy aliens,” is simply a chilling reminder of a acheronian past.

“The usage of nationalist information rhetoric to warrant wide incarceration coming echoes nan aforesaid logic that led to their forced removal and incarceration,” said Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of nan Japanese American National Museum successful Los Angeles.

“It is inconceivable that nan United States is erstwhile again building attraction camps, denying nan lessons learned 80 years ago.”

The Trump management deed backmost astatine nan comparisons made betwixt nan usage of nan guidelines during World War II and nan existent migration climate, including those from nan American Civil Liberties Union, which described nan installation arsenic “another shameful section successful Fort Bliss’ history.”

“Comparisons of forbidden alien detention centers to internment camps utilized during World War II are deranged and lazy,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said successful a statement. “The facts are ICE is targeting nan worst of nan worst—including murderers, MS-13 pack members, pedophiles, and rapists.”

The sprawling detention center, which costs astir $1.2 billion to build, presently has nan capacity to clasp an estimated 1,000 people. More than 80 years ago, nan guidelines was an charismatic U.S. Army installation that was utilized arsenic a impermanent internment camp, holding nationals from Japan, Germany and Italy, said Derrek Tomine, president of nan National Japanese American Historical Society.

The quadrate installation contained 2 compounds, surrounded by barbed ligament fences, Tomine said. Armed defender towers sat astatine nan corners. Many of nan individuals of Japanese descent, successful summation to different immigrants who were detained there, were awaiting their proceeding earlier an force alien proceeding board, Tomine explained.

“Generally those held astatine nan U.S. Army accommodation were first-generation Japanese Americans detained early successful World War II and who were past processed and shipped to different internment camps,” Tomine said.

Both Tomine and Burroughs said that nan comparisons betwixt nan migrant detention installation of nan coming and nan internment campy of nan past are “neither deranged nor lazy.”

“Entire communities, complete 125,000 Japanese Americans, were forcibly removed from nan West Coast successful 1942 and coming our migrant brothers and sisters look nan panic of ICE and CBP raids crossed nan country,” Burroughs said. “It was a miscarriage of justness then, and it is simply a miscarriage of justness now.”

Tomine said he thinks nan measurement that immigrants are being blamed for taking jobs, abusing authorities services and being nan root of a big of societal issues smacks of nan scapegoating of marginalized communities successful nan past, including during World War II.

“Many of these aforesaid immigrants fled their location countries to debar being taken distant and placed into camps without charges aliases owed process,” Tomine said of nan caller detentions.

Though nan management said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been prioritizing nan targeting of criminals, roughly 70% of nan estimated 59,380 individuals held successful ICE detention arsenic of Aug. 10 person nary criminal conviction, according to information collected by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, an independent, nonpartisan information investigation organization. Texas, wherever Fort Bliss is located, is nan authorities that has housed nan astir group during fiscal twelvemonth 2025.

Fort Bliss has been nan halfway of wide criticism, peculiarly successful nan section El Paso community. McLaughlin antecedently said successful a connection that nan installation will connection ineligible representation, a rule library, entree to visitation, aesculapian curen and recreational space. However, Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who toured nan installation Monday, criticized nan monolithic magnitude of backing approved for nan site, successful summation to awesome concerns complete nan conditions successful nan center, which is being tally by backstage contractors.

“I deliberation it’s acold excessively easy for standards to gaffe erstwhile location are backstage facilities,” Escobar said during a news convention Monday. “I deliberation backstage accommodation acold excessively often are operating pinch a profit separator successful mind arsenic opposed to a governmental facility.”

Many, including nan ACLU, besides brought up nan facility’s past arsenic an intake shelter that housed almost 5,000 migrant children astatine its peak. Audio from 2021 revealed allegations of intersexual misconduct by unit toward minors, successful summation to a deficiency of cleanable clothing and different concerns.

Tomine said nan hasty opening of nan detention halfway astatine Fort Bliss and others crossed nan state are impervious that possibly nan U.S. has grounded to study lessons from nan curen of immigrants and Japanese Americans during World War II.

“Many successful nan Japanese American organization … promote nan management to not brushwood speech civilian authorities because of racism, rumors, hysteria and propaganda,” Tomine said.