Camp East Montana

Camp East Montana is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility located at Fort Bliss, Texas, that opened in August 2025. The camp is a tent encampment, reported to be run by a company called Acquisition Logistics LLC, with a contract value of around $1.2 billion.[1][2] The facility has a planned capacity of up to 5,000 detainees.[3] The ACLU has described it as the largest internment facility in the United States.[4]

History

Camp East Montana was opened on August 1, 2025.[5] During its first 50 days, conditions at the camp violated at least 60 federal standards, according to ICE's own detention oversight unit.[6] The ACLU and other human-rights organizations called for its closure after interviewed detainees reported "physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, and intimidation to self-deport".[7][8][9] On March 3, 2026, ICE indicated that it was taking steps to close Camp East Montana after only eight months of operation.[10] The contract awarded to Acquisition Logistics LLC had an estimated completion date of September 30, 2027.[10] On March 12, 2026, it was reported that Camp East Montana would remain open, but under new ownership. On March 12, the website of the General Services Administration reported a new contract awarded to Amentum Services Inc. to provide housing, medical care, and transportation for Camp East Montana.[11]

Deaths and human rights violations

By December 2025, more than 45 detainees had reported abuse and injuries to their attorneys.[12] Two inmates reported having their testicles crushed by guards as a form of punishment.[13]

As of January 2026, three detainee deaths were reported within a 44 days.[14] An autopsy ruled the death of 55-year old Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos as a homicide caused by asphyxia.[15] ICE officials stated that his death was a suicide while in solitary confinement, but witnesses told press that he had been handcuffed and choked by guards before his death.[16][17] Campos had previously been arrested for sexual contact with an 11-year-old minor and illegal possession of a weapon leading to his detention by ICE.[18] After the El Paso medical examiner ruled Lunas Campos' death a homicide, El Paso mayor Renard Johnson called for an independent investigation.[15] Individuals attempting to visit detainees from Minneapolis, where Lunas Campos had been detained, were told those inmates were no longer allowed to have visitors.[19]

On January 14, Victor Manuel Diaz died while detained at Camp East Montana, said by ICE to be due to "presumed suicide".[20] Unlike the previous two detainees who had autopsies performed by the local county medical examiner, Diaz's body was transferred to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center under the jurisdiction of the federal government.[20][21]

At the end of January 2026, Victor Manuel Diaz's family questioned the information provided by ICE, pointing out that the agency had not sent them detailed information about Victor's death and describing the procedures as "suspicious" and irregular, leading them to launch an independent investigation to clarify the case.[22][23]

Health conditions

On February 10, 2026, The Irish Times published an article based on an interview with Seamus Culleton, one of the people detained by ICE in Boston, about the conditions at Camp East Montana, where he mentioned that food was quite scarce and that there were frequent fights among detainees to obtain food. He also mentioned that the camp did not have adequate laundry facilities and that many of the women were forced to wear dirty clothes for several weeks. Culleton described the facility as a concentration camp.[24][25] Culleton had previously been detained by ICE following reports of drug possession charges in Ireland that date back to 2009.[26][27]

On February 7, 2026, it was discovered that poor sanitation at Camp East Montana had helped spread disease within the facilities, including two cases of tuberculosis and 18 cases of COVID-19.[28] Alarms about poor healthcare for immigrants were raised by Democrat Veronica Escobar, who reported that one-third of detainees have a chronic illness and around 200 to 300 need daily insulin, citing that conditions at Camp East Montana are deteriorating to the point of violating basic human rights.[29] One woman detained at the camp had been due for surgery to remove an ovarian cyst when ICE arrested her in Minneapolis without a warrant; she was not receiving medications while in detention.[30]

Escobar pointed out that Camp East Montana had many immigrants in poor health, citing cases of pregnant women who had lost a lot of weight due to malnutrition while in ICE custody. She also noted that some immigrants had collapsed during her visit on January 29.[31] On March 3, 2026, Camp East Montana was closed to visitors due to a measles outbreak with the center reporting 14 active measles cases.[32]

Public reactions

Spanish-language outlets, such as La Nación,[33] Univision,[34] and El Tiempo,[35] had dubbed Camp East Montana the "Alligator Alcatraz of Texas" after comparisons were made to how poorly the facility was designed, reporting that the facility had broken bathrooms as well as poor food and medicine supply systems, in addition to the fact that it had been put into operation while it was still under construction.

In January 2026, a coalition of immigrant rights organizations in New Mexico and Texas, including Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Contigo Immigrant Justice, Estrella del Paso, and the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), issued a statement calling for the closure of the facilities after multiple incidents involving the deaths of Latinos in the camp and DHS violations of basic procedures for treating people.[36][37]

On February 11, 2026, several Texas lawmakers called attention to how Camp East Montana was being operated, implying that the facilities were torturing immigrants and violating basic protocols for the treatment of people. They also compared the treatment of Latinos to the Internment of Japanese Americans at Fort Bliss. Thirty-six Democrats in the Texas State House, including Ana-Maria Ramos, had called for investigations into Camp East Montana to prevent the death of people in the facilities.[38]

On February 26, 2026, more than two dozen Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congresswoman Escobar, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, calling on the Trump administration to close Camp East Montana, due to safety and health problems at the facility.[39]

References

  1. ^ Goodman, Joshua (August 28, 2025). "Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert". PBS News. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  2. ^ Spicer, Honora (November 20, 2025). "Profiting in Nowhereland". Boston Review. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  3. ^ Jaime, Kristian. "ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss opens Aug. 17 under Trump-era executive order". El Paso Times. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  4. ^ Gassama, Haddy (December 8, 2025). "Immigrants Detained at Fort Bliss in Texas Report Abuse and Inhumane Conditions". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  5. ^ Ramirez, Cindy (August 18, 2025). "$1.2B ICE detention complex opens at Fort Bliss in East El Paso under Trump's mass deportation strategy". El Paso Matters. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  6. ^ MacMillan, Douglas. "60 violations in 50 days: Inside ICE's giant tent facility at Ft. Bliss". Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  7. ^ "Detained Immigrants Detail Physical Abuse and Inhumane Conditions at Largest Immigration Detention Center in the U.S." ACLU. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Abbott, Jeff (December 19, 2025). "Exclusive: She survived ICE custody; her husband died during detention". El Paso Times. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Abbott, Jeff (December 20, 2025). "Exclusive: 911 calls from migrant detention center highlight dire conditions". El Paso Times. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "ICE taking steps to close detention center at Fort Bliss, document shows". The Washington Post. March 4, 2026. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  11. ^ Tribune, Texas (March 12, 2026). "Report: ICE replacing operator of El Paso's Camp East Montana detention camp". El Paso Matters. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  12. ^ DeGuzman, Lomi Kriel, Colleen (February 26, 2026). "Escobar leads Dems' call for ICE to close El Paso camp". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Figueroa, Lorena (December 9, 2025). "Officers at Texas immigration detention facility accused of beatings and sexual abuse". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  14. ^ "Third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says". NBC News. January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  15. ^ a b Bedoya, Aaron A. "Homicide at ICE facility sparks El Paso mayor's call for investigation". El Paso Times. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  16. ^ Biesecker, Michael; Foley, Ryan (January 22, 2026). "Autopsy finds Cuban immigrant in ICE custody died of homicide due to asphyxia". AP News. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  17. ^ Canon, Gabrielle (January 16, 2026). "Death of man at ICE camp could be investigated as homicide after examiner's report". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  18. ^ "Cuban immigrant's death at ICE facility ruled a homicide, autopsy report says". ABC News. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  19. ^ Moore, Robert; Ramirez, Cindy (January 18, 2026). "Minnesota detainees denied visitors at Fort Bliss following 3rd death at ICE facility". El Paso Matters. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  20. ^ a b Foley, Ryan J. (January 22, 2026). "Cuban immigrant in ICE custody died of homicide due to asphyxia, autopsy finds". PBS News.
  21. ^ Venegas, Natalie (January 24, 2026). "Migrant death at Camp East Montana raises concerns over body transfer to military hospital". KDBC.
  22. ^ "'I don't believe he took his life': Family of Nicaraguan man seeks answers after his death in ICE detention facility". ABC News. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  23. ^ "Family questions federal investigation of Nicaraguan migrant's death at Camp East Montana". BorderReport.
  24. ^ O'Connell, Cian. "Ice detention camp, where Irishman is held, under scrutiny for unexplained deaths". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  25. ^ Reporter, Elyse WanshelSenior; HuffPost (February 10, 2026). "It's A 'Modern-Day Concentration Camp': Irish Man Held By ICE Details 'Nightmare' Facility". HuffPost. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  26. ^ Carroll, Rory (February 12, 2026). "Irishman held by ICE was issued warrant over 2009 drug offense in Ireland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  27. ^ Keena, Colm. "Seamus Culleton was facing drug charges at the time he moved to United States". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  28. ^ "Two tuberculosis cases detected at Camp East Montana ICE facility". The Texas Tribune. February 7, 2026. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  29. ^ DeGuzman, Colleen (February 9, 2026). "Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Detected at Camp East Montana ICE Jail in El Paso". Truthout. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  30. ^ Nesterak, Max (March 16, 2026). "'I feel desperate': Minnesota woman suffering medical emergency stuck in Texas detention". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  31. ^ Salhotra, Pooja; Ulloa, Jazmine (February 5, 2026). "Trump's Migrant Detention Pipeline Extends From Minnesota to El Paso". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  32. ^ Nguyen, Lomi Kriel, Alex (March 4, 2026). "14 measles cases reported at El Paso ICE tent camp". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 5, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "Así es el "Alligator Alcatraz" de Texas: Camp East Montana, el centro del ICE donde murieron tres migrantes bajo custodia". LA NACION (in Spanish). January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  34. ^ "Así es el Camp East Montana, en Fort Bliss, donde han muerto 3 inmigrantes y organizaciones exigen su cierre | N+ Univision Mundo | Univision". www.univision.com (in Spanish). January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026. El Camp East Montana ha sido comparado con 'Alligator Alcatraz'
  35. ^ Guevara, Laura Juliana Castellanos (August 21, 2025). "Así es Camp East Montana, el nuevo centro de detención de migrantes más grande de EE. UU.: carpas sin aislamiento térmico en temperaturas de 40 grados". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  36. ^ "Groups demand immediate closure of Camp East Montana following 3rd in-custody death". BorderReport. January 20, 2026. Archived from the original on January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  37. ^ "Human Rights Groups Urge ICE to End Immigration Detention at Fort Bliss Military Base, Halt Abusive Third-Country Deportations". NMILC. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  38. ^ "Texas Lawmakers Sound Alarm on 'Torture, Killing, and Inhumane Treatment' of Detainees in Fort Bliss ICE Facility | Common Dreams". www.commondreams.org. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  39. ^ DeGuzman, Lomi Kriel, Colleen (February 26, 2026). "Escobar leads Dems' call for ICE to close El Paso camp". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

31°48′43″N 106°17′53″W / 31.8119°N 106.2981°W / 31.8119; -106.2981

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