# Camp East Montana The soft-sided detention camp on Fort Bliss Army land outside El Paso — the first military-base immigration detention facility of its scale (up to 5,000 beds) and the federal counterpart to the state-run [[Alligator Alcatraz]] model. Opened August 1, 2025, it is where the mass-deportation buildout's waste, secrecy, and human toll are best documented. ## The contract carousel ICE first awarded [[Deployed Resources]] a ~$3.8B contract (April 2025), then canceled it within days. The Army re-awarded to Acquisition Logistics LLC (~$1.26B, with an IDIQ ceiling up to ~$2.7B) — a firm whose previous largest federal award was ~$16M. After months of scrutiny, Amentum Services took over in March 2026. GAO found up to $11.5M wasted in the camp's first two weeks (before any detainees arrived) and ~$7.1M spent on unneeded meals over the following months; ICE pays for 5,000 beds regardless of population (~1,600 in February 2026, ~3,000 around the contractor change). ## Conditions and oversight Documented conditions include dust storms blowing through tent gaps, sewage overflowing into sleeping areas, water shortages, a measles outbreak, hunger strikes, and ~50–60 detention-standard violations logged by ICE's own inspectors in roughly 50 days. Three detainee deaths have been reported, one ruled a homicide — a man allegedly beaten and choked by an ICE officer after asking for his inhaler. Members of Congress were denied entry (Rep. Kelly Morrison) or had visits canceled, in alleged violation of statutory access rights; the ACLU of Texas and allies sued in May 2026 alleging unconstitutional punishment. Per [[Pete Hegseth]]'s July 2025 letter, the model is set to spread: Camp Atterbury (Indiana) and Fort Dix (New Jersey) were designated as follow-ons. ## See Also - [[Alligator Alcatraz]] — the state-run prototype · [[Deployed Resources]] - [[Carceral and Border Security Sector]] · [[ICE]] · [[Big Beautiful Bill]] · [[US Immigration Timeline]]