FILE - A sign marks the entrance to a series of hardened tents at the Camp East Montana immigrant detention center in the desert at a U.S. Army base on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)
FILE - A sign marks the entrance to a series of hardened tents at the Camp East Montana immigrant detention center in the desert at a U.S. Army base on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)
WASHINGTON — A newly released report by a nonpartisan government watchdog reveals severe financial waste and substandard conditions at the nation's largest immigrant detention center. The Government Accountability Office investigation into Camp East Montana, located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is one of the first independent looks into facilities funded by a $170 billion immigration enforcement law passed in July.
The Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement established the soft-sided camp in August to house up to 5,000 migrants. It continues to operate under ICE and a private contractor. According to the GAO, the facility has faced significant safety and health crises, including multiple tuberculosis cases and at least four detainee deaths. The local coroner ruled one of those deaths a homicide. The allegations of inhumane treatment have already triggered a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The watchdog group attributed much of the financial waste to a rigid $1.3 billion Pentagon contract that lacked the flexibility to adjust for fluctuating detainee populations. Investigators found that taxpayers funded full operations, including guards, medical staff, and transportation, during a two-week period in August when zero migrants were housed at the site, costing up to $11.5 million. The Army also paid an extra $423,000 for unneeded meals because of fixed-capacity pricing.
Furthermore, the GAO warned that these systemic failures could easily repeat on a much larger scale. The Department of Homeland Security is currently moving forward with a $38 billion initiative to convert commercial warehouses into migrant holding areas using the exact same contracting methods.
The report issued four recommendations to prevent future issues, including implementing tiered food pricing and ensuring all facilities meet basic safety standards before opening. While federal officials agreed with the recommendations, the Pentagon deferred to DHS, which did not immediately offer a comment.
The findings also highlighted major operational failures regarding a January detainee death caused by asphyxia. The private contractor failed to submit required use-of-force and death reports to ICE, and investigators noted that critical evidence was either missing or destroyed.
The disclosures drew sharp criticism from congressional Democrats who originally requested the probe. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois labeled the findings damning, stating that the situation exposes dangerous flaws within the administration's mass deportation campaign. Watchdog inspectors also documented that detainees with chronic illnesses like diabetes and HIV lacked medical treatment plans, and staff bypassed mandatory skin tests for tuberculosis, leading to an infected individual being placed within the general population in November.Â
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