A vast tent city near El Paso that was supposed to be the template for a new wave of immigration lockups may be shutting down after less than a year in operation. An internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo reviewed by the Washington Post says the agency is moving to end its contract for Camp East Montana, a sprawling detention complex next to Fort Bliss that opened Aug. 1 under a $1.2 billion deal running through 2027. The document says ICE is drafting a termination letter but gives no timetable or explanation.
A Homeland Security spokeswoman, however, said the camp is still under review and that "no decisions have been made" on its future. "ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody," Lauren Bis said. "DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards." In July, the administration awarded the $1.2 billion contract to a small, Virginia-based contractor that had never previously operated a detention facility or received a federal contract of more than $16 million.
Camp East Montana was billed as a quick-build holding site where migrants would stay for about two weeks before deportation or release. Instead, ICE records show many have been held for months in giant, warehouse-style tents divided into crowded pods. The facility quickly drew scrutiny: ICE's own inspectors reported at least 60 violations of federal detention standards in the first 50 days after it opened in August while still under construction, including gaps in medical intake, poor access to lawyers, and weak safety procedures. Detainees told civil rights groups they were beaten for protesting conditions or refusing food.
- Those problems were underscored by three deaths in two months, including that of Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, who died Jan. 3 after a struggle with guards. The local medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by compression of the neck and chest. DHS later said Campos had attempted suicide and "violently resisted" staff trying to intervene. Two other men, from Guatemala and Nicaragua, died in separate incidents in December and January. ICE says at least 30 people died in its custody last year, the highest toll in roughly 20 years.
- Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes the facility, has called for it to be shut down, NBC News reports. "There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city," she said Wednesday. Escobar said the facility is closed to visitors, including attorneys, this week because of a measles outbreak.
- According to a document seen by the Post, the camp's population has fallen to around 1,500 detainees in recent weeks, about half as many as in January.
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