Rep. Gabe Vasquez Presses ICE for Transparency Following Congressional Oversight Visit at Camp East Montana

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On April 21, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons demanding answers following the Congressman's April 6 Congressional oversight visit at Camp East Montana.

"During the visit, ICE staff were unable and unwilling to answer the vast majority of my questions and recommended that I submit the questions by email following my visit to ICE's Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) for a response," said Vasquez in the letter. "My staff submitted my questions below to ICE OCR by email on April 9, 2026, as requested, but your team only provided an answer to one of my questions below in its response on April 15, 2026. I write again to ask for a full response..."

In the letter, Rep. Vasquez pressed ICE for the answers it owed him on the status of the facility's contractor transition, what percent of detainees have criminal records, what mechanisms are in place to protect the physical and mental wellbeing of detainees, and more.

During the April 6 oversight visit, Rep. Vasquez also asked ICE officials to share a copy of the Camp East Montana detainee handbook. In an email response sent on April 15, ICE's Office of Congressional Relations noted that a copy of the Camp East Montana detainee handbook was "forthcoming pending redactions." The Congressman plans to keep pressing the agency for an unredacted copy of the handbook as part of his oversight duties.

Rep. Vasquez's April 6 oversight visit at Camp East Montana built upon his long track record of calling for reform, accountability, and due process at the Department of Homeland Security:

• During Rep. Vasquez's April 6 oversight visit at Camp East Montana, ICE officials said that Acquisition Logistics - a contractor with no prior detention experience and dozens of reported failures to meet national detention standards at Camp East Montana - was still operating the facility, despite ICE officials previously claiming that Amentum Services would become the lead contractor, effective March 13.
  • Following the visit, Rep. Vasquez sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons demanding transparency around the status of the billion-dollar DHS contract to operate Camp East Montana.
• Last May, the Congressman introduced the Humane Accountability Act, a bill that requires DHS to tell Congress and the public what it's doing with taxpayer money - including data on detentions, deportations, and deaths in custody - so families know where their loved ones are and the public knows what its government is doing with taxpayer funds.
• In February 2026, the Congressman sent a letter to DHS alongside Rep. Escobar calling for the closure of the Camp East Montana facility - a request DHS denied.
• Rep Vasquez has introduced the New American Immigration Plan, a commonsense plan to secure our borders, boost local economies, and expand legal pathways - all in a humane, cost-effective way that lives up to our American values of fairness and law and order.

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