Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons
Why It Matters
A newly released federal audit raises serious questions about the management of a large-scale immigrant detention facility in El Paso, Texas, documenting wasted taxpayer funds, inadequate medical care, and at least one death investigators classified as a homicide. The findings arrive as Congress moves forward with a major immigration enforcement spending package that President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law.
What Happened
The Government Accountability Office released a report Tuesday examining operations at Camp East Montana, a detention facility located at Fort Bliss in El Paso established jointly by the Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August 2025. The facility was built to hold up to 5,000 immigrants and has been operating under a private contractor alongside ICE oversight.
The GAO found that the facility failed to meet key detention, safety, and security standards across multiple areas. Among the most serious findings: a detainee died in January under circumstances a local coroner ruled asphyxia homicide, and evidence connected to that incident was later found to be missing or destroyed. The contractor also did not submit required use-of-force and death reports to ICE.
Medical oversight at the facility was also found to be deficient. Workers at the facility did not consistently follow required tuberculosis screening procedures — one contractor used a questionnaire in place of mandated skin tests — and a detainee who tested positive for tuberculosis was housed with the general population in November. Separately, detainees with HIV and diabetes were found to have no treatment plans in place.
By the Numbers
- $11.5 million was paid to the contractor for services during August 1–15, 2025, when no detainees were present at the facility
- $423,000 was spent on meals that were unnecessary during a period when the facility operated below capacity
- $1.3 billion is the total value of the Department of Defense contract for Camp East Montana
- At least four detainees died at the facility; one death was ruled a homicide
- $170 billion in immigration enforcement and detention funding was enacted in July 2025, and an additional $70 billion package is moving through Congress this week
Congressional Response
The investigation was requested by a group of Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Gary Peters of Michigan, along with Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
Sen. Reed argued that the problems traced back to the Pentagon awarding a major contract to an inexperienced vendor, saying the contractor effectively wrote its own performance standards. Sen. Durbin framed the findings as evidence of broader failures in the administration’s immigration enforcement approach.
Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense agreed with the GAO’s four recommendations, which were included in the report.
The American Civil Liberties Union has separately filed suit against the federal government over conditions at the facility.
Zoom Out
Camp East Montana is one piece of a much larger federal detention infrastructure buildout. The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly planned to spend $38 billion converting warehouse facilities across the country into immigrant detention space. The broader immigration enforcement effort has already received substantial congressional backing, with the July 2025 funding law allocating $170 billion toward related programs.
As Washington debates how to oversee that spending, recent incidents elsewhere have also raised public safety questions about enforcement operations. The GAO’s findings suggest that rapid expansion of detention capacity — absent rigorous contract oversight — carries significant risks to both taxpayer funds and detainee welfare.
What’s Next
The GAO has issued four recommendations for improving oversight and operations at the facility. With both DHS and DOD signaling agreement, implementation details will likely be the focus going forward. On Capitol Hill, the House is expected to complete final action on the $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package this week, with President Trump anticipated to sign the legislation.
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