WASHINGTON —

A new migrant detention facility on a military base near the U.S.-Mexico border is scheduled to begin operations on Sunday.

The Trump administration said that, upon completion, it will be "the largest federal detention center in history."

Officials say the new facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso will initially accommodate 1,000 migrants – but it could ultimately expand to hold up to 5,000.

It's part of a broader push to increase deportations by roughly doubling detention capacity across the country. That effort has been bolstered by a surge of new cash from Congress, plus growing cooperation with states and the Pentagon.

"The Trump administration has very quickly raised detention levels to a record high," said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a lawyer and policy analyst with the Migra

See Full Page