DHS Pauses Immigrant Detention Warehouse Buys

0:00It's April 2nd. Welcome in. This is El Paso News today, where local news meets AI. I'm Cory with the story. Department of Homeland Security just hit Paws on buying new warehouses to detain immigrants. This comes during a leadership switch from Christy Knowham to new secretary Mark Wayne Mullin. Officials say it's only temporary while they sort things out. Meanwhile, work keeps rolling on 11 warehouses already snapped up, including three massive ones in Sucorial, Texas, bought for 100. 23 million dollars back in January. Those spots alone could hold 8,500 people, part of a bigger, 38 billion dollar push to create 7,000 five. 100 to 10,000 beds nationwide. In El Paso County, that means up to 13,500 detention spots if everything goes through, building on the huge camp east Montana. Site that's already the biggest in the country at 5,000 capacity. But locals are fired up about the strain. Folks in Sucorial and nearby

1:01Clint deal with spotty water pressure as it is, and state rep Vicente Perez warns the new set up could guzzle 20% of the local water district supply that sparking real pushback on whether the area is ready for this scale. Plants for upgrades like new fencing, lighting, cameras, and roof fixes are still advancing on those sites, with no historical impacts flagged. Expect movement soon once the new team settles in.