Largest ICE detention facility wasted millions and put detainees at risk, report finds

A federal investigation has found that mismanagement, neglected safety protocols, and millions of dollars in wasteful spending defined the early months of operations at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest immigration detention facility, located at Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas.

The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, released its report on Tuesday after reviewing conditions at the sprawling tent-based facility, which opened in August and rapidly expanded to hold thousands of immigrants awaiting deportation proceedings. The findings paint a picture of a facility rushed into operation before it was ready, overseen by a contractor with no experience running detention centers, and plagued by lapses that contributed to at least three detainee deaths in less than seven months.

The Trump administration directed the U.S. Army to award the contract for the camp after Immigration and Customs Enforcement twice failed to secure a suitable vendor. The resulting $1.3 billion contract went to Acquisition Logistics, a small company that had never operated a detention facility. ICE itself described the firm as facing a "significant learning curve." Acquisition Logistics did not respond to requests for comment on the GAO findings.

In the weeks before the camp held any detainees, the Army spent as much as $11.5 million on guard services, medical staffing, transportation, and meals for a population that did not exist. Once detainees began arriving, the government continued paying for meals based on the camp's maximum capacity of 5,000, even as the population dropped to roughly 1,600. The result, according to the GAO, was millions more in payments for services that went unused.

The facility opened without meeting ICE's own detention standards. Required perimeter security cameras were absent, leaving surveillance blind spots that heightened the risk of escape and sexual assault. The camp could not accommodate detainees in wheelchairs and lacked ADA-compliant showers, forcing disabled detainees to bathe in medical care rooms. A recreation yard opened late and provided less space than regulations require. The law library, attorney meeting space, and visitation area were unavailable for weeks, cutting off detainees from legal counsel and family contact.

Medical care was similarly compromised. Detainees did not receive comprehensive health assessments upon arrival, leaving those with chronic conditions without proper treatment plans. Rather than conducting required tuberculosis skin tests, the contractor relied on a written questionnaire — a screening failure that allowed a detainee with active tuberculosis to be placed in the general population, where an outbreak later occurred. Dormitories were cleaned weekly instead of daily, producing unsanitary living conditions, and some guards reportedly asked detainees to clean their own rooms in exchange for cookies.

The report also details several serious security failures. In October, a detainee escaped because of what ICE attributed to the contractor's oversight lapses. In January, a security guard lost a loaded firearm inside the facility; the weapon was never recovered.

Three detainees died at the camp between August and January. The January death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant, followed a restraint incident involving guards. An outside autopsy ruled his death a homicide caused by asphyxia. According to the GAO, evidence related to his death was "missing or destroyed," and the contractor failed to file required use-of-force and death reports with ICE. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation, and ICE's internal Office of Professional Responsibility has paused its review pending that inquiry.

Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan detainee, died by suicide on Jan. 14. Staff placed him in a medical holding room rather than a suicide-resistant cell and did not check on him at intervals required by policy. The contractor had failed months earlier to install vision panels requested for the room, meaning staff could not observe him from outside. Diaz family attorney Randall Kallinen said the report strengthens a potential wrongful death claim. "These are huge discrepancies in their failure to prevent suicides," he said. "They are part of an entire laundry list of problems at Camp East Montana."

The GAO opened its review at the request of Democratic members of the House and Senate. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the findings "damning." "We now know even more details of how dangerous and irresponsible the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign truly is," Durbin said. "Those detained are experiencing conditions that shock the conscience."

The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged the report and pointed to recent changes in the camp's management. Spokesperson Lauren Bis said ICE has replaced the contractor operating the facility. "This new contractor will allow Camp East Montana to continue abiding by the highest detention standards with the ability to provide more medical care on-site," Bis said.

The findings have drawn attention in immigrant communities far from the Texas desert, including in Maine, where some detainees have been sent to Camp East Montana. Portland City Councilor Pious Ali, an immigrant and vocal advocate for immigrant rights, addressed the report directly. "Across this country, we have cities and towns built by immigrants and refugees. I am an immigrant. Many people in communities like ours came here the same way, looking for safety, for work, for a better life for their children," Ali said. "So when I read that three people have died at Camp East Montana in less than six months, that a loaded firearm went missing inside the facility, that detainees with HIV and diabetes were left without treatment plans, I don't read that as a policy debate. I read that as a human failure."

The GAO report adds to a growing body of reporting from The Associated Press and other outlets documenting dangerous conditions at the facility since its earliest days. Whether the change in contractors will resolve the problems identified remains an open question.