Report finds problems at migrant detention camp
By: Trevor Hughes
USA Today
..... Federal officials racing to open a massive migrant detention center in Texas wasted tens of millions of dollars, lost a loaded firearm and a detainee, and violated internal guidelines for housing people, according to a new Government Accountability Office investigation.
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Most of the problems were tied to federal officials' decision to let the military cerate the sprawling tent city of Camp East Montana, which was then taken over by Immigration and Costumes Enforcement, the GAO said. The report also said ICE officials failed to inspect the $1.3 billion facility at the Army's Fort Bliss outside El Paso before sending detainees there in August 2025.
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Camp East Montana is the country's largest migrant detention center, capable of housing up to 5,000 people. In January, [2026] a detainee's death at the facility was ruled a homicide by asphyxia. The GAO said evidence in that case is missing or was destroyed. The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress,
..... "These issues contributed to waste of government resource sand threats to the health and life of detained non-citizens and staff at the facility," the GAO said in its report. "While the Army and ICE's planning and acquisition approach for Camp East Montana enabled them to award the contract quickly, it contributed to negative outcomes during facility operations."
..... Federal officials cerated Camp East Montana as part of President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement, arguing that using a preexisting military construction contract would allow them to move quickly than under civilian rules.
..... Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. ICE officials in an April [2026] internal investigation noted many of the same problems as the GAO report, but rated the facility, "acceptable/adequate/"
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The GAO said differences in how the Army and ICE approach projects led to a series of other problems.
* a detainee with highly contagious tuberculosis was house in the general population because the camp's managers failed to adequately scree for it.
* Guards bribed detainees with cookies to clean their own detention areas. Additionally, ICE paid for months off meals that were never served because the contract required full payment regardless of how many detainees were actually being held.
* In March, [2026] a detainee escaped from the facility, which ICE officials blamed on the contractors' inability to track people housed there. It was not clear from the GAO report whether the detainee was taken back into custody.
* Also i March, [2026] ICE officials said they were unable to find a loaded weapon lost by a contract security guard in January. [2026]
* In January, [2026] a detainee died by suicide after being left alone in a medical holding cell and not being checked on every 15 minutes, as required.
.... The facility has also seen measles outbreak, and migrant rights groups have sued the federal government over conditions.
..... Democrats in Congress requested the GAO investigation. In a statement, Santor Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said conditions at Camp East Montana "shock the conscience."