ICE to use U.S. military base in Colorado to detain migrants

29/1/2025 12:39

The U.S. military said on Tuesday it will allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain migrants at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado, further widening the Pentagon's role in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.



The decision comes on top of U.S. military deportation flights of migrants out of the country and the deployment of just over 1,600 active-duty troops to the U.S. border with Mexico following Trump's emergency declaration on immigration last week.



The U.S. military's Northern Command said in a statement it started providing facilities at Buckley to ICE starting on Monday "to enable U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stage and process criminal aliens within the U.S."



"ICE requirements for the facility include a temporary operations center, staging area, and a temporary holding location for the receiving, holding, and processing of illegal aliens," Northern Command said in the statement.



"This facility will be manned by ICE senior leaders, special agents, and analysts, as well as members of (Department of Homeland Security) components and other federal law enforcement agencies."



Northern Command did not say how many migrants might be detained at Buckley or whether additional U.S. military bases might soon be opening for detention of migrants.