The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a damning report on Camp East Montana, the largest immigrant detention facility in the United States. Located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, the facility was hastily constructed in August 2026 as part of a broader federal effort to expand immigration detention capacity. The report reveals a troubling mix of financial mismanagementsafety lapsesand inhumane conditions that have raised serious concerns among lawmakers and advocacy groups.
The facility, intended to hold up to 5,000 immigrants, was established under a $1.3 billion contract awarded by the Department of Defense. However, the GAO report highlights significant issues with the contracting process, including the selection of a contractor with no prior experience operating detention facilities. The rush to open the facility led to costly procurement decisions and inadequate oversight, resulting in millions of dollars in wasted taxpayer funds.
Financial Mismanagement and Wasted Resources
The GAO report details how the Army and ICE accelerated the facility’s planning, contracting, and construction timelines, leading to costly procurement decisions. One of the most significant findings involved contract terms that required the government to pay for services at full capacity even when the facility housed far fewer detainees. For example, the government paid for meals and services during the first two weeks of August 2026 despite having no detainees housed at the site, resulting in up to $11.5 million in waste. Additionally, the Army paid about an additional $423,000 for meals it did not need when the facility was operating below its designated capacity from August 16, 2026, through September 30, 2026.
The GAO report also notes that the same mistakes could be made with the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing move to spend $38 billion to convert warehouses for the purpose of detaining thousands of immigrants. The report warns that ICE’s planned facility expansion risks repeating every one of these failures at a dramatically larger scale.
Safety and Health Concerns
The report highlights serious concerns regarding facility readiness and detainee safety. Camp East Montana began housing detainees before meeting several key detention standards. At opening, the facility lacked perimeter security cameras, designated outdoor recreation areas, and adequate space for attorney and family visits. ICE failed to conduct a required inspection before detainees arrived, allowing these deficiencies to go undetected.
After operations began, additional problems emerged. The report documents gaps in medical services, unsanitary conditions, and the loss of a loaded firearm within the facility. One of the most serious findings involved the death of a detainee following a use-of-force incident in January 2026. According to ICE’s report, a coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by asphyxia. ICE officials stated that the contractor failed to submit required use-of-force and death reports following the incident. Investigators also reported that evidence connected to the case was either missing or had been destroyed.
The report also highlights the failure of facility employees to follow proper procedure for tuberculosis screening. One contractor used a questionnaire rather than administering the required skin tests for tuberculosis. As a result, a detained immigrant with tuberculosis was housed with the general immigrant population in November 2026, potentially exposing other detainees and staff to the disease.
Congressional Response and Future Recommendations
Congressional Democrats, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Gary Peters of Michigan, as well as Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, requested the GAO report. Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed concern that the U.S. military was responsible for the quick construction of the detention camp. He stated that preventable deaths, inhumane conditions, and millions of dollars in waste are the direct result of the Pentagon cutting corners and handing a billion-dollar contract to an inexperienced vendor.
The GAO report makes four recommendations, including that ICE consider tiered pricing for food to account for fluctuations in populations of detained immigrants and that ICE ensure that new facilities meet detention standards before housing immigrants. The report notes that DHS and DOD agreed with the recommendations. DOD deferred comment to DHS, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The findings provide an early assessment of the federal government’s rapid detention expansion efforts and raise questions about whether speed was prioritized at the expense of fiscal stewardship, operational readiness, and detainee safety. The report serves as a stark reminder of the importance of oversight and accountability in government contracting and detention facilities.
