TORNILLO, Texas — The Homeland Security Department will open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center for adults in the coming weeks in the space outside Customs and Border Protection's Tornillo port facility, which was the center of protests last summer as a holding site for unaccompanied children, according to two Border Patrol officials with knowledge of the operation.

Construction was underway Saturday afternoon when the Washington Examiner passed through the Customs and Border Protection port of entry, now known as the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry. The town of Tornillo sits 30 miles southeast of downtown El Paso, Texas.

A large metal frame, comparable to the ones used for the massive white tents in Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, Texas, began going up this week, though officials have not decided whether to use tents or modular homes, one source said.

The structure that will be used as the tent frame was being installed Saturday. (Washington Examiner/Anna Giaritelli)

"That place is only supposed to hold adults. No Border Patrol will be working there, but I guarantee it's going to be a disaster," the first official wrote in a text.

"Its going to open the end of this month into early next month," the second official said.

Last summer, CBP stood up a Border Patrol-operated outdoor detention center for unaccompanied children to be housed while they awaited transfer to Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement. The facility is not a Border Patrol station or forward-operating base, but sector officials opted to use the adjacent land to put up dozens of tents, which housed bunk beds for children.

The camp was set up during a wave of family separations late last spring and activists from around the country showed up outside the government property to protest for months children being held, including those who arrived on their own and those who were taken away from parents. It was closed down in January as apprehension numbers in El Paso began to spike.

Temporary light poles circle the outdoor area, which is now blocked with walls for privacy. (Washington Examiner/Anna Giaritelli)

"There were a lot of activists, a lot of protests. So they said, 'We don’t want this. We’re gonna shut this down,'" the second official said.

The new temporary facility will house approximately 2,500 people, likely waiting to be deported or who have made asylum claims but were not released by Border Patrol.

A statement released by CBP spokesman Roger Maier to media outlets states it will serve as overflow for Border Patrol stations. However, CBP data shows the number of single adults taken into custody in the region dropped 30% from May to June, prompting questions for why the sector would move now to put up a supplemental tent facility for Border Patrol if the numbers are declining.