The US Military has built six tents at the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas that can each hold up to 1,000 migrants but soldiers have reportedly been banned from photographing them amid the border crisis.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to cater for unaccompanied migrant children amid an influx of those arriving at the US-Mexico border.
Officials have refused to say how many migrants are currently being held at the army base but White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month that the Fort Bliss facility could house about 5,000 beds.
No official photos have been released of the Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Shelters so far.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to cater for unaccompanied migrant children amid an influx of those arriving at the US-Mexico border. Photo courtesy of CBS4
Officials have refused to say how many migrants are currently being held at the army base but White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month that the Fort Bliss facility could house about 5,000 beds. Photo courtesy of CBS4
Sources told Fox News that military personnel at the army base have been ordered not to take photos of the tents.
The only images of the tents that have been made public have come from two lawmakers who visited Fort Bliss to inspect the intake shelters over the last two weeks.
The six tents can be seen in the background of photos posted on Twitter by Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales.
Those same sources said there were plans to have more tents erected in the future to cater for more migrants.
The tents erected so far came after the Department of Health and Human Services received approval from the Pentagon last month to house unaccompanied migrant children at the army base.
The Biden administration has been battling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children at the border in recent weeks, who have been backed up in crowded border stations and processing centers for days.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, (pictured above) were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to cater for unaccompanied migrant children amid an influx of those arriving at the US-Mexico border
The only images of the tents that have been made public have come from two lawmakers, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, who visited Fort Bliss to inspect the intake shelters over the last two weeks
No official photos have been released of the Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Shelters so far
The shelter system that houses the children has been overwhelmed and the Department of Health and Human Services has scrambled in to open the emergency shelters.
New government statistics released last week revealed that 171,000 migrants were caught by US authorities at the border in March – the highest monthly total in two decades and the latest sign of the mounting humanitarian challenge confronting President Joe Biden.
The total includes about 19,000 unaccompanied migrant children and 53,000 family members traveling together, the preliminary figures showed.
The preliminary March arrest totals at the US-Mexico border represent the highest monthly level since April 2000 when border patrol agents caught more than 180,000 migrants.
Separately, two Yemeni nationals who were placed on the FBI’s terror watchlist were arrested in California after crossing illegally from Mexico.
Migrants cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in on March 30 in El Paso, Texas
Migrant children play near the border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 2
Migrants board a van at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mission, Texas, on Sunday
The two unnamed men, aged 33 and 26, were detained over the last three months in the Calexico area of California.
The captures were made by US Customs and Border Protection agents assigned to the El Centro Station.
CBP said in a statement on Monday that the two men were on a US government watchlist for terrorism suspects and were also named on a ‘no-fly’ list.
‘Part of the Border Patrol’s mission states we will protect the country from terrorists,’ said Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino.
‘These apprehensions at our border illustrates the importance of our mission and how we can never stop being vigilant in our everyday mission to protect this great country.’
Republicans critical of Biden’s border response have previously warned that terrorists could be among those entering illegally and evading detection.
The US government does not release data on terrorist detentions along the border with Mexico.
A 33-year-old Yemeni national was one of two men who despite being on the FBI’s terror suspect list and ‘no-fly’ list were arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in California for attempting to cross illegally from Mexico to the United States
