Rep. Gabe Vasquez Conducts Congressional Oversight Visit at Camp East Montana

EL PASO, TX- On April 6, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)conducted a Congressional oversight visit at Camp East Montana. The visit followed the release of a new report from ICE last week, which identified dozens of failures to meet national detention standards at the facility, including use of force, use of restraints, and inadequate medical care.

"Today, I visited Camp East Montana as part of my Congressional oversight duties. ICE got a $75 billion blank check from the Republican tax law, and it is my duty as a member of Congress to exercise oversight and make sure that DHS is spending our taxpayer money in a way that lives up to our American values, standards, and laws to truly keep our country safe," said Vasquez. "This camp is my community's backyard, and what happens here is incredibly relevant for my constituents in New Mexico's second district. I have heard reports from nonprofits and partners in New Mexico that people are being indiscriminately picked up by ICE in New Mexico and moved to this facility, and today I spoke with a current detainee from Albuquerque."

"The conditions I saw today are beneath our American values," Vasquez added. "I believe in law and order, and violent criminals who are in this country illegally and intend to harm others should of course be detained and deported per the letter of the law - just as any violent individual should have to face the full force of the law - but the reality is that the vast majority of detainees at Camp East Montana have no criminal record. This is not what Americans voted for, and it has got to stop. I am calling for the immediate closure of this camp."

During the visit, ICE failed to share data on what percent of detainees in the facility have criminal records. Detainees reported that they estimate the vast majority of individuals detained at the facility have no criminal records, saying about 800 of the individuals currently detained at Camp East Montana - roughly 98% of the current population - have no criminal records.

During the visit, detainees also reported limited access to health care (including the withholding of medications), insufficient food containing little to no protein, a lack of access to personal care products (like shampoo), forced sleep deprivation, poor sanitation, and verbal abuse from facility guards.

During the visit, the Congressman gathered the following information:

• As of today, ICE reported there are 821 individuals detained at the facility. The peak number of individuals detained at the facility was over 4,000, and the facility has a maximum capacity of 5,000 individuals.
• ICE says it has no plans to expand the facility at this time.
• As of today, Acquisition Logistics is still operating the facility, with a change to a new contractor - Amentum Services Inc. - forthcoming, despite reports that the change in contractor was slated to take place in March, multiple deaths have taken place at the facility, and the recent ICE report that found the facility failed to meet national detention standards.
• ICE reported that the average detainee's stay at Camp East Montana is 60 days. However, many of the detainees the Congressman spoke to had contradictory experiences to ICE's claim, sharing that they had been detained at the facility for much longer than that - some up to as much as seven months.
• ICE officials reported that as of today, 101 individuals were quarantined due to the recent measles outbreak. Instances of tuberculosis and COVID-19 were also reported by ICE officials.

During his visit, the Congressman spoke with detainees who had been living in New Mexico at the time of their arrest by ICE. Many of the detainees the Congressman spoke with had lived and worked in the U.S. for decades prior to being detained by ICE. They reported working as mechanics, factory workers, and owning small cleaning and construction businesses prior to their detention.

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

• 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 letterto 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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