BUTCHER ABOUT HIS CONCERNS. >> IN THE HEART OF THE EVERGLADES. BEHIND CLYDE BUTCHER'S, BIG CYPRESS GALLERY. IT'S NATURE ON TALKING THE BEST THING I ADVISE YOU. JUST TAKE YOUR SCOTT RANDOLPH, HE'S GUIDED SOME FOUR-THOUSAND SWATH WALKS OUT HERE THIS TIME OF YEAR. IT'S HOT AND IT'S BUGGY, BUT NO MATTER THE SEASON, SCOTT SEES BEAUTY A NATURAL BEAUTY. AREAS THAT I MEAN, I CAN STILL >> HIKE IN HERE AND AREAS THAT HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED. I MEAN, IT'S REALLY IT'S REMARKABLE. IT'S MAGICAL BUTCHER. A FAMED PHOTOGRAPHER HAS WORKED TO CAPTURE THAT MAGIC FOR 40 YEARS. NOW. >> IS DISTINCTIVE BLACK AND WHITE STYLE SHOWCASES WHAT'S BECOME KNOWN AS THE RIVER OF GRASS. I TOOK THE EVERGLADES LAND OF LIFE. EVERYTHING IS GROWING. CRAWLING TALKING IS PROBABLY THE MOST PRISTINE PLACE IN STATE. BUT NOW JUST 6 MILES EAST OF THE BIG CYPRESS GALLERY, NEW MIGRANT DETENTION CENTER, ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ HAS BROUGHT A AND THE CONTROVERSY TO THIS NORMALLY QUIET STRETCH OF NATURE. THE PROJECT IS ALSO BROUGHT CERTAIN PERSPECTIVES OF THE LAND HERE. >> IT'S KNOWN AS ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ, WHICH IS VERY APPROPRIATE BECAUSE I LOOK AT SIDE AND THAT'S NOT A PLACE. I WANT TO GO HIKING ATTENTION. SECURITY IS AMAZING. >> BUT WHAT? NATURAL AND OTHERWISE I'VE NEVER HAD A POOR BUT HAWLEY'S IRAN TO ME TO HEAR THOSE THINGS. IT WAS LIKE KILLING 40 YEARS OF MY WORK OF TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE HOW GREAT IT IS. >> BUT YOU'RE IS ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THE VERY ENVIRONMENT HE'S HELPED SPOTLIGHT. THESE ARE PHOTOS HE SHOT FROM THE AREA WHERE THE DETENTION CENTER NOW SITS. ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS HAVE FILED A LAWSUIT ARGUING THE PROJECT NEEDS A FULL IMPACT REVIEW. THE GOVERNOR HAS INSISTED THERE WON'T BE PROBLEMS INVESTED, HOW MUCH BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. >> INTO INCREASING AND IMPROVING THE HYDROLOGY OF THE EVERGLADES OF I THOUGHT SOMEHOW THIS WAS NOT WAS GOING TO HURT THAT. THEN I WOULD AND WOULDN'T DO IT. >> SCOTT RANDOLPH HAS SEEN THAT RECOVERY FIRST HAND DURING THE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PROJECT. BUT HE BUTCHER AND MANY OTHERS WORRY THAT ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ IS A SERIOUS SETBACK. IF A BODY. >> IT WAS 5,000. PEOPLE ANYWHERE IS A LOT OF POLLUTION. PUTTING THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF A AREA THAT SO FRAGILE. BEYOND COMPREHENSION TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN AMERICA. >> REPORTING FROM DEEP IN TH
US government is building a 5,000-person immigrant detention camp in west Texas
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Updated: 2:05 PM CDT Jul 24, 2025
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The U.S. government is building an immense 5,000-person detention camp in west Texas, government contract announcements said, sharply increasing the Trump administration's ability to hold detained immigrants amid its ever-growing mass deportation efforts.A Defense Department contract announcement on Monday said Acquisition Logistics, a Virginia-based firm, had been awarded $232 million in Army funds to build the facility, which would be used for single immigrant adults.Procurement documents called it a "soft sided facility," a phrase often used for tent camps.The announcement came just weeks after Florida authorities rushed to construct a new immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," which was built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland in the Florida Everglades.The announcement said the new facility would be built in El Paso, which is home to Ft. Bliss, an Army base that stretches across parts of Texas and New Mexico.President Donald Trump recently signed a law setting aside $170 billion on border and immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for detention, even as the number of illegal border crossings has plunged. ICE will see its funding grow by $76.5 billion over five years, nearly 10 times its current annual budget.Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
The U.S. government is building an immense 5,000-person detention camp in west Texas, government contract announcements said, sharply increasing the Trump administration's ability to hold detained immigrants amid its ever-growing mass deportation efforts.
A Defense Department contract announcement on Monday said Acquisition Logistics, a Virginia-based firm, had been awarded $232 million in Army funds to build the facility, which would be used for single immigrant adults.
Procurement documents called it a "soft sided facility," a phrase often used for tent camps.
The announcement came just weeks after Florida authorities rushed to construct a new immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," which was built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland in the Florida Everglades.
The announcement said the new facility would be built in El Paso, which is home to Ft. Bliss, an Army base that stretches across parts of Texas and New Mexico.
President Donald Trump recently signed a law setting aside $170 billion on border and immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for detention, even as the number of illegal border crossings has plunged. ICE will see its funding grow by $76.5 billion over five years, nearly 10 times its current annual budget.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
![US-POLITICS-MIGRATION-RIGHTS-PROTEST](https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/images/gettyimages-2225644254-1-6880268297783.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.846xh;0,0.0913xh&resize=136:* "A Florida Highway Patrol officer looks on as protesters gather to demand the closure of the immigrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on July 22, 2025. Immigrants held at US detention centers have experienced abusive and degrading treatment, a Human Rights Watch report said on July 21. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)")