The numbers alone tell a grim story. In just five months of operation, staff at Camp East Montana — the largest immigration detention facility in the United States — placed nearly 130 emergency calls to 911, averaging roughly one per day. Those calls, along with interviews with detainees and court filings, paint a picture of a sprawling detention experiment gone terribly wrong.
Camp East Montana, situated on the grounds of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, opened its gates in mid-August 2025 as the centerpiece of the federal government’s push to dramatically expand immigration detention capacity. At its peak, the facility housed an average of 3,000 people per day in conditions that multiple detainees have described as worse than prison.
A Pattern of Medical Emergencies
The emergency calls, spanning from the facility’s opening through late January, document a relentless stream of medical crises. Seizures, chest pains, and cardiac episodes were among the most frequently reported emergencies. At least six calls involved detainees who had attempted self-harm or expressed suicidal ideation — a rate that alarmed medical professionals familiar with detention facility standards.
Three detainees died during the facility’s brief period of operation, marking Camp East Montana as one of the deadliest chapters in recent detention history in Texas. The circumstances surrounding each death remain under investigation, but advocates say the pattern points to systemic failures in medical screening and mental health support.
For people unfamiliar with how federal detention differs from incarceration, the distinction matters. Unlike jails and prisons, immigration detention facilities are classified as civil confinement — meaning detainees are not serving criminal sentences. Yet the conditions described at Camp East Montana often fell below the standards maintained at many county jails.
Overcrowding and Unsanitary Conditions
Detainees housed at the facility reported loud, unsanitary living quarters where disease spread easily and sleep was a luxury. The rapid population scaling — from zero to thousands in a matter of weeks — overwhelmed sanitation systems, food service operations, and the limited medical staff on site.
Several detainees reported inadequate nutrition, with meals described as insufficient in both quantity and quality. Others described a facility where basic hygiene supplies were rationed and access to clean clothing was inconsistent. These accounts align with conditions documented at other rapidly expanded detention sites across El Paso County and the broader border region.
Staffing and Oversight Gaps
The frequency of 911 calls also raises questions about internal medical capacity. Facilities of this size are expected to maintain on-site medical teams capable of handling routine emergencies without relying on external emergency services. The near-daily cadence of outside emergency calls suggests that Camp East Montana’s medical infrastructure was either understaffed, undertrained, or both.
Immigration attorneys representing detainees at the facility have filed multiple complaints alleging that requests for medical attention went unanswered for days, that mental health services were virtually nonexistent, and that detainees with chronic conditions were denied access to prescribed medications.
Facility Closure on the Horizon
Internal documents now indicate that ICE is taking steps to shutter Camp East Montana, less than eight months after it opened. The closure would mark a significant reversal for an administration that has made expanded detention capacity a cornerstone of its immigration enforcement strategy.
The decision to close the facility comes amid broader scrutiny of the federal government’s detention expansion. The detained population across ICE facilities rose nearly 75 percent in 2025, climbing from roughly 40,000 at the start of the year to approximately 66,000 by December — the highest level ever recorded. The administration has signaled its intent to bring over 100,000 detention beds online in 2026, though Camp East Montana’s failure raises questions about whether that pace is sustainable.
Meanwhile, federal courts in Michigan have ruled that hundreds of immigrants were unlawfully detained at another ICE facility, ordering the government to provide bond hearings within days or release them. The ruling adds to mounting legal pressure on the detention system nationwide.
What Comes Next
For the thousands of people who passed through Camp East Montana during its brief existence, the facility’s closure offers little comfort. Advocates say many will simply be transferred to other facilities that may face similar capacity and staffing challenges. Others may be deported before ever receiving a hearing.
The question now facing federal officials is whether the lessons of Camp East Montana will inform future detention planning — or whether the push for rapid expansion will continue to outpace the infrastructure needed to maintain basic safety and human dignity. For those trying to locate a detained family member, the instability of the system only compounds the difficulty.
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