ICE oversight inspectors have found dozens of violations of detention standards in Camp East Montana, the largest detention center in the United States.
Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Detention Oversight, which falls under the Office of Professional Responsibility, made a three-day visit in February to the sprawling detention center in El Paso. The report was released this week.
Inspectors found 49 “deficiencies” at the $1.2 billion detention center.
Among the violations of detention policies and operational procedures found were 22 deficiencies related to “use of force and restraints,” 11 issues related to “facility security and control,” and five related to “medical care.” The report also lists two deficiencies in “sexual abuse and assault prevention and intervention,” four deficiencies related to the “grievance system” and one related to telephone access.
The report found that at least one detainee has escaped due to not having proper security staffing, that the facility “does not maintain accurate inventory of ammunition nor conduct regular inspections of all tools” and there were no proper reports of use of force incidents or medical attention in incidents against detainees.
Despite the concerns and deficiencies, inspectors gave the center an “acceptable/adequate” rating.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D- El Paso, has repeatedly raised concerns about conditions at the detention center following multiple oversight visits. She has repeatedly called for the closure of Camp East Montana.
Alleged abuse, inhumane conditions at Camp East Montana
The massive immigration detention center has been plagued by controversy since it opened in August 2025.
Camp East Montana is poised to be among the largest in the country, projected to house 5,000 detainees. There were around 1,500 people held at the facility, down from a high of 3,100 in January.
ODO inspectors interviewed 49 detainees during their visit, and the report states none of them made “allegations of discrimination, mistreatment or abuse.” But former detainees held at Camp East Montana detailed abuses by guards in interviews with the El Paso Times, including being called “donkeys,” being told to shut up and threats against detainees’ loved ones.
The American Civil Liberties Union published a scathing report detailing rampant acts of physical violence against detainees and attempts to force detainees to self-deport. The abuses they faced inside Camp East Montana before their deportations echoed in interviews done by the ACLU.
Detainees also described unsanitary conditions, inedible food that was often half-frozen or rotten, and claimed that medical attention was almost non-existent. The detainees also said there was regular flooding and other unsanitary conditions in the facility.
The lack of sanitary conditions has led to a mental health crisis within the detention center, where some detainees have been held for up to four to five months. The El Paso Times also reported nearly 90 emergency 911 calls coming from the center in the first 15 weeks of operation, detailing regular medical emergencies and suicide attempts.
Escobar raised concerns that Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, the first detainee to die at the center in December 2025, died from medical neglect. The El Paso Times detailed how Cristóbal Andrés’ widow was also held at the camp, survived, but he died while in ICE custody at an El Paso hospital.
At least 14 people have died in ICE detention in 2026 across the United States, two of whom have died in Camp East Montana. The deaths at the El Paso detention center have contributed to concerns over the conditions.
Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died on Jan. 3 in a use-of-force incident. His death was ruled a homicide.
Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, who is originally from Nicaragua, was pronounced dead on Jan. 14, with ICE initially saying his death was a suicide. There is little information about his death, and the family has said that ICE never provided them with more information about his death, leading them to call for more oversight at the detention center.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in March that it had terminated the contract awarded to Acquisitions Logistics LLC to manage the troubled site following outcry over the abuses. DHS awarded a new contract to Amentum Services Inc., which is based in Chantilly, Virginia.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ICE inspectors finds 49 standards violations at Camp East Montana
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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