Department of Homeland Security Modifies Plans for Large-Scale Immigration Facility in Socorro
The Department of Homeland Security has revised its plans for a substantial warehouse facility in Socorro, initially designated as an immigration detention center with the capacity for up to 8,500 detainees. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, announced this update following a meeting with the interim director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last Friday.
According to Escobar, the DHS will still utilize the warehouse complex; however, it will not serve as a detention center for 8,500 individuals. “They’ve modified the plan slightly. It will primarily function as a training facility. Essentially, it will become a campus for ICE, with offices and conference rooms. However, there will continue to be private detention facilities integrated into the complex,” she said during a news conference held in her El Paso office.
Escobar received these details during her discussion with David Venturella, who became acting director of ICE on June 1, as well as other officials from El Paso County. Venturella mentioned that he could not provide an estimate of how many detainees the facility could now accommodate.
Officials from the DHS did not respond promptly to El Paso Matters regarding inquiries about the specifics shared by Venturella during the meeting.
The need for water resources has emerged as a contentious issue surrounding the newly proposed facility. A detention center designed to hold 8,500 individuals could potentially require hundreds of thousands of gallons of water each day. Officials from the Lower Valley Water District, which serves the area, indicated that the current infrastructure could not adequately support such a large facility without significant upgrades.
During the news conference, Escobar and other local officials raised concerns that even a training facility combined with a modest detention center could exacerbate existing infrastructure challenges in the Socorro region, which already faces issues with traffic congestion and water pressure.
This warehouse complex, originally intended for storing pecans harvested from local fields, was acquired by DHS for $122 million earlier this year. The purchase aimed to accommodate thousands of detained immigrants alongside a large workforce.
Roger Esparza, director of El Paso County Emergency Services District 2, noted, “Previously, these buildings were intended as factories for storing pecans or similar products. We now have 200 to 300 employees scattered throughout the facility, and the new plan envisions thousands of individuals concentrated in this area.”
Esparza also emphasized that the existing water systems would struggle to support the demands of such a facility, indicating that his department lacks the resources necessary to safeguard large office and detention complexes in the area.
Venturella mentioned that the facility is unlikely to commence operations within the next year to 18 months. However, Esparza expressed that this timeline does little to alleviate concerns within the emergency services district. He pointed out that the new ICE facility would necessitate additional equipment, such as a firefighting ladder truck, projected to cost $2 million and carry a three-year waiting period for acquisition.
“We don’t have the funds for such expenses. Although no one can predict what the final outcome will be, this remains a significant concern,” he asserted.
Venturella, who assumed the post of acting ICE director on June 1, has extensive experience in the field, having served for 26 years in federal Immigration Enforcement before spending over a decade with GEO Group, one of the major operators of private prisons and immigration detention centers.
Originally, the Socorro immigration detention center was planned to be among the largest in the United States, situated across three warehouses spanning 63 acres near Interstate 10. Recently, three Catholic dioceses in the Socorro area have initiated efforts to protest the facility, citing humanitarian issues and the additional strain on existing populations, which are already grappling with significant water challenges.
The DHS has also paused or rolled back several large-scale detention projects that were previously on the table under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. According to an April report by the Associated Press, the DHS has halted the purchase of additional warehouses that were earmarked for conversion into immigration detention facilities while new Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin reviews existing contracts and real estate acquisitions made during the agency’s rapid expansion.
