GAO warns detention camp failures could become a blueprint for billions in new spending

A hastily constructed immigrant detention facility on a military base in Texas wasted millions in federal funding and failed to meet basic standards, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonpartisan government watchdog.

The report by the Government Accountability Office documenting problems at Camp East Montana is one of the first independent investigations into a facility quickly constructed from the $170 billion in immigration enforcement and detention funding provided by Republicans’ "big beautiful" law enacted in July 2025 as part of the president’s mass deportation campaign. The camp is considered the largest immigrant detention center in the United States.

The Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August 2025 set up the soft-sided detention site of Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was intended to hold as many as 5,000 immigrants and is still operating under a private contractor as well as ICE.

The facility was plagued with several tuberculosis cases and at least four detainee deaths, with one ruled a homicide by the local coroner. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit against the government over inhumane conditions.

"The facility also did not meet key detention standards, risking the safety and security of detained noncitizens and staff," GAO said.

The report came as the U.S. House this week prepares to take final steps to pass a $70 billion package to fund immigration enforcement through the end of fiscal year 2029. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law.

Congressional Democrats requested that GAO conduct a report on Camp East Montana, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Gary Peters of Michigan, and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.

Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that he was concerned the U.S. military was responsible for the quick construction of the detention camp.

"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 that wrote its own performance standards," Reed said.

$1.3 billion contract

GAO investigators found that the Department of Defense's contracting vehicle used to handle the $1.3 billion contract for Camp East Montana provided no flexibility and resulted in paying for meals and employee services during times when no immigrants were detained at the facility, resulting in millions of dollars in waste.

For example, the Army paid the full cost for guards, medical services, transportation, meals and other services from Aug. 1, 2025, to Aug. 15, 2025, when there were no detainees at the facility, wasting up to $11.5 million, GAO said.

"Further, because the Army set a fixed price for meals based on the capacity of the facility, it paid about an additional $423,000 for meals it did not need when the facility was operating below its designated capacity from Aug. 16, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2025," according to the GAO report.

Same failures could repeat, GAO says

GAO investigators also noted 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.

"GAO points out that ICE's planned facility expansion — a $38 billion program to convert warehouses into detention facilities using the same contracting vehicle — risks repeating every one of these failures at a dramatically larger scale," according to the report.

Investigators made four recommendations, including that ICE consider tiered pricing for food to account for fluctuations in detained immigrant populations and 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 States Newsroom's request for comment.

Homicide investigated

Investigators also raised use-of-force concerns, including one in January in which an autopsy found the death of a detainee was due to asphyxia and ruled it a homicide.

"However, the contractor did not provide use-of-force and death reports to ICE, as required," according to the report. "In addition, evidence associated with the incident was missing or destroyed."

Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the GAO report "damning."

"We now know even more details of how dangerous and irresponsible the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign truly is," he said in a statement. "Excessive use of force, lacking medical and mental health care, and wasted taxpayer dollars are emblematic of this mass deportation scheme. The American people have rightfully expressed outrage at these policies, and it's time to hold ICE and their private contractors responsible."

GAO investigators noted several health issues. They pointed out that none of the detainees with HIV or diabetes had treatment plans in place.

Also, facility employees did not follow proper procedure for tuberculosis screening. One contractor used a questionnaire rather than administering the required skin tests for tuberculosis.

Investigators found that, as a result, a detained immigrant with tuberculosis was housed with the general immigrant population in November.