ACLU, Local Partners and Rep. Jasmine Crockett to Hold Press Conference Condemning Trump’s Plan to Turn Fort Bliss into the Nation’s Largest Immigration Detention Center

Local leaders and advocates warn co-opting of military resources for detention camp at Fort Bliss would harm communities nationwide

EL PASO, TX — On Thursday, August 21, at 11:30 a.m. MT, the American Civil Liberties Union and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), alongside advocates and local community leaders, will hold a press conference to condemn the Trump administration’s plan to convert Fort Bliss – a military base with land in Texas and New Mexico – into the nation’s largest immigration detention camp. Costing an estimated $1.26 billion, the tent camp could eventually hold up to 5,000 people and leave people vulnerable to extreme heat, sandstorms, and other inhumane conditions.

The press conference will follow Rep. Crockett’s visit to the detention camp on Thursday morning. Speakers will point to Fort Bliss’s shameful history as a Japanese internment camp during World War II and warn how the Trump administration’s plans to misuse military resources to expand immigration detention will harm communities nationwide.

WHAT:

ACLU and immigrants’ rights advocates to host press conference on the Trump administration’s expansion of immigration detention at Fort Bliss.

WHO:

• United States Representative Jasmine Crockett (TX-30)
• Marisa Limón Garza, Executive Director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
• Samantha Singleton, Policy Director, Border Network for Human Rights
• Becca Sheff, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of New Mexico
• Osvaldo Grimaldo, Policy & Advocacy Strategist – Border & Immigrants’ Rights, ACLU of Texas
• Jovanny Sebastian Hernandez, Community Organizer, New Mexico Dream Team

WHEN:

Thursday, August 21 at 11:30 a.m. MT

WHERE:

Estrella del Paso, 2400 East Yandell, El Paso, TX 79903

Press conference to be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/aclunm

RSVP:

To attend, please RSVP to [email protected]