El Paso, Texas - The US is setting up a migrant detention facility at the Fort Bliss military base near the Mexico border with an eventual capacity of up to 5,000 people, the Pentagon said Thursday.

President Donald Trump has launched an all-out assault on immigrant communities in his second term, and declared an emergency at the Southern border on his first day back in office.

"Beginning mid-July, we have begun working on establishing a detention center at Fort Bliss," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told journalists.

"Since then, work has begun for initial detainment capacity of 1,000 illegal aliens, with initial operating capacity likely to be achieved by mid-late August," she continued.

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"We will finish construction for up to 5,000 beds in the weeks and months ahead."

It will not be the first time a US base has been used to hold migrants during Trump's presidency: he ordered the preparation of a 30,000-person "migrant facility" at the notorious Guantanamo detention camp in Cuba earlier this year, though it has not held anywhere close to that number of people.

The Trump administration's attacks on immigrants have also included raids, arrests, and deportations on military aircraft, as well as attempts to strip the lawful status of hundreds of thousands of people.