Work has started on a new $12.4 million headquarters for the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona.

Agency and local officials recently broke ground on the facility designed to hold 210 detainees, more than three times the capacity of the current station built in the 70's. The new building, located only 400 feet away from the existing station will help agents meet growing security demands posed by increasing illegal immigration along the Arizona border.

"We are bursting at the seams in our current facility," said Ron Colburn, chief agent of the Yuma sector. The agency, which expects to double in size within the next year, welcomes the much needed space and automation improvements. The flood of illegal immigration along Arizona's borders continues to push limits.

"As protectors of homeland security we want to make the surrounding communities safer," noted Colburn. "The Department has imposed additional requirements on how individuals are housed. The new station will meet those needs."

The facility, designed to accommodate future expansion, will house a staff of 350 on rotation. It will provide a safer, more efficient work place for the men and women protecting our borders.

"We look forward to a continued partnership with the Department of Homeland Security," said Major James DeLapp, Deputy Commander for the Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is currently the construction agent for the, Yuma Border Patrol Station. The Yuma station should be completed in June 2006.