From Japanese Internment Camp to ICE Detention Center: The Troubled History of Fort Bliss

El Paso, TX – Fort Bliss, a cornerstone of U.S. military history, has once again entered the national spotlight after reports confirmed its transformation into the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in the country. This development casts a stark light on the base’s past — a history that intertwines with some of America’s most vital and troubling chapters.

World War II – Site of Internment and Displacement

During World War II, Fort Bliss was one of several U.S. military bases used to intern civilians of Japanese, German, and Italian descent. Families were uprooted, lives disrupted, and liberties stripped — all under the shadow of war and suspicion. Today, historians remind us that this episode remains one of the most widely condemned violations of civil liberties in U.S. history.

The Cold War – Military Expansion and Power Projection

In the decades that followed, Fort Bliss grew into a symbol of America’s military might. Home to missile testing and air defense training, it was central to U.S. strategy during the Cold War. While this era reflected national security priorities, it also reinforced the image of Fort Bliss as a place where civil society was often sidelined in the name of government power. It became a rocket laboratory for Nazi scientists the U.S. recruited in effort to win the developing Cold War arms race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Amongst the Nazi recruits was Dr. Wehner Von Braun, famed inventor of the V2 rocket.

Modern Era – Immigration Enforcement and Human Rights Concerns

Now, in 2025, Fort Bliss is being repurposed once more — this time as an ICE detention site capable of holding up to 5,000 people in temporary tent structures. Immigrant rights groups warn that the conditions echo past mistakes: detaining families in harsh desert heat with limited oversight, medical care, or legal support. For many, the parallel between WWII internment and today’s mass detentions is not just symbolic, but dangerously real.

A Warning from History

Fort Bliss has been used time and time again as a tool of confinement during moments of national anxiety. Its history should remind us that policies driven by fear often result in grave injustices. Rather than repeating those mistakes, we must ensure transparency, accountability, and above all, humanity.

Looking Ahead

Civil liberties organizations are urging Congress to investigate the use of Fort Bliss for civilian detention, warning that repeating patterns of exclusion and imprisonment undermines the very freedoms the United States claims to defend.