El Paso opens tent-like intake center to house 1,000 migrants

The US Border Patrol opened a massive desert tent that can hold 1,000 migrants in El Paso, Texas on Wednesday to help process the record-breaking number of individuals crossing the U.S-Mexico border.

Located on the outskirts of the city, the temporary facility is the size of 23 football fields—153,000 square feet—and can house 1,00 people. The facility is weatherproof, climate-controlled, and has ample areas for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene.

The new tent is a part of the agency's response efforts to address the increased migrant encounters in the El Paso area, along with the deployment of additional personnel and funding to local partners.

“This is part of the agency’s response efforts regarding increased migrant encounters in the El Paso area, along with surging additional personnel and providing funding to local partners,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Landon Hutchens said in December, when plans for the tent were announced. 

In December, El Paso declared a state of emergency after it received thousands of migrants seeking asylum, overwhelming local shelters and leaving thousands sleeping on the streets in freezing temperatures. The city is currently using hotels, church parishes, and convention centers to house the incoming migrants, which number around 2,400 a day, according to city data. 

The U.S. Border Patrol Central Processing Center opened a permanent migrant processing center at Hondo Pass in the fall of 2020. The facility has a capacity of 1,040 people. The new tent facility is meant to provide additional support to the main intake center. 

The Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to open nine additional soft-sided facilities to boost the CBP's migrant processing capacity if needed.