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The U.S. military will build 'facilities' to house at least 7,500 adult migrants, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security to construct the facilities, said Pentagon spokesman Army Maj. Chris Mitchell.

Toward that end, the Defense Department will loan the civil authorities soft tents, which the military will set up at locations identified by the Department of Homeland Security, Mitchell said.

“Military personnel will not operate the facilities and will only erect the tents,” Mitchell said. “Operating the facilities remains the responsibility of DHS.”

Over the next two weeks, defense officials will conduct site assessments to figure out the cost and timeline for building the facilities in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona; and Tornillo, Donna, Laredo, and Del Rio, Texas, he said.

The migrants will be held at the facilities as part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal operations, Mitchell said.

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Jeff Schogol
Jeff Schogol

Jeff Schogol is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. He has covered the military for 15 years, with previous bylines at the Express-Times in Easton, Pennsylvania, Stars & Stripes, and Military Times. You can email him at schogol@taskandpurpose.com, direct message @JeffSchogol on Twitter, or reach him on WhatsApp and Signal at 703-909-6488. Contact the author here.