When federal immigration authorities opened the Camp East Montana detention center outside El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 1, 2025, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security and a prominent voice behind the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, said the $1.24 billion facility would offer "everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers."
Several months later, the promises of access to legal representation, medical treatment, and nutritious, balanced meals have faded, replaced by a grim reality. A recent inspection at the Camp East Montana facility found 49 violations of national standards that potentially exposed detainees to excessive force, disease, and other unsafe conditions.
The facility, known as the largest immigration detention center in the United States, was found to have 49 deficiencies, defined by ICE's Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) as violations of detention standards or policies, in areas including the use of force and restraints, security, medical care, and others.
ODO carried out the congressionally mandated inspection over three days in February, according to an ICE report posted online this week.
As reported by The Texas Tribune, the number of deficiencies found by ODO at East Camp Montana is higher than average, surpassing the previous highest total this year of 13 violations.
"This report is scathing. Camp East Montana gets an F," said attorney Randall Kallinen, who represents the family of Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan national who died there on Jan. 14 of a "presumed suicide," according to immigration authorities.
"It's very dangerous. Not only are the detainees in danger of excessive force, they are also in danger of improper or negligent medical care and mental health care, as well as danger from other detainees," Kallinen added.
Besides Manuel Diaz, two more deaths have been reported at the Fort Bliss facility since it opened.
Geraldo Lunas Ocampos, a 55-year-old Cuban national, died in January while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody with his autopsy report revealing he died from asphyxia, supporting accounts from two witnesses who say the man was choked by agents during a struggle.
Similarly, Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a 48-year-old Venezuelan national, died of what ICE described as "suspected natural causes" in December 2025. Human rights groups and local officials have criticized conditions at the facility, while the Department of Homeland Security has said allegations of inhumane treatment are "categorically false."
As mentioned in the ICE report and highlighted by The Texas Tribune, the inspection of the Fort Bliss facility was conducted before ICE replaced the prime contractor, Acquisition Logistics LLC, last month amid intense criticism over inhumane conditions and reports of human rights violations.
Acquisition Logistics LLC was awarded a contract worth up to $1.3 billion to build and operate the camp despite having no prior experience in the field.
The inspection found that during the company's tenure, staff did not document whether they were conducting required checks to prevent self-harm and suicide. Acquisition Logistics also refused to provide information about staffing levels to ICE, making it impossible to determine whether they were sufficient to maintain security, according to the report.
As noted by The Texas Tribune, the ODO report also found that in some instances, security guards who used or witnessed force and restraints, such as handcuffs, failed to file required written reports.
Supervisors also did not document their observations, staff failed to record or preserve video footage in some cases, and the facility did not review incidents afterward to assess whether chemical agents or other types of force were used appropriately.
Medical staff failed to isolate a detainee who showed symptoms consistent with tuberculosis, which spreads through the air, and did not notify ICE of the case.
The camp also responded slowly to a dozen grievances filed by detainees about medical care, taking between six and 14 business days to respond, the report said.
Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents Texas' 16th Congressional District and has toured and met with detainees at the facility several times, said conditions inside the detention center have yet to improve since it opened and questioned whether that is by design to pressure detainees into agreeing to self-deport.
"ICE is completely uninterested in really creating any change or holding the contractor accountable," she said.
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