The federal government has terminated the primary contractor operating its largest immigration detention facility and selected a replacement amid mounting concerns over detainee welfare, medical care failures, and a surge in custody deaths that has made this the deadliest year for immigration detention in more than two decades.
Camp East Montana, the sprawling detention complex in El Paso, Texas, will now be managed by Amentum Services, Inc., which previously served as a subcontractor at the facility. The change comes after months of complaints from detainees describing conditions they called inhumane — inadequate medical staffing, food quality issues, and overcrowding that has pushed the facility well beyond its intended capacity.
A Detention System Under Strain
The contractor swap is the most visible sign yet of a detention infrastructure buckling under unprecedented demand. The national detained population has surged from fewer than 40,000 people to more than 70,000 in just 12 months, as immigration enforcement operations have expanded dramatically across the country. That rapid scaling has forced ICE to rely on hastily constructed facilities, converted warehouses, and emergency contracts with private operators — many of whom have struggled to meet basic standards of care.
In Texas, where Camp East Montana opened last year after accelerated construction, detainees reported sleeping on thin mats in warehouse-style dormitories with limited ventilation and inconsistent access to medical providers. Similar complaints have surfaced at facilities across the Southwest, from New Mexico processing centers to temporary holding sites in Arizona.
Death Toll Rises
Twenty-three people have died in ICE custody since October — already surpassing the total for the entire previous fiscal year. Medical emergencies, suicide, and complications from chronic conditions left untreated during detention account for the majority of deaths. Advocacy organizations report that their detention hotlines have received an average of more than 2,600 calls per month since November, more than double the volume from the same period a year earlier.
The deaths span facilities across the country. Detainees have died at centers in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, and California, with families often learning of their loved ones’ deaths days after the fact. Understanding how to locate someone in detention has become increasingly urgent for families navigating the expanding system.
Warehouse Conversions Raise Alarms
Beyond Camp East Montana, ICE has been purchasing commercial warehouses in cities across the country and converting them into large-scale detention centers. Recent property filings show the agency acquired a warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, adding to a growing portfolio of converted industrial spaces repurposed for immigration detention.
Local officials in several communities — including some in politically conservative areas that broadly support stricter immigration enforcement — have pushed back against the warehouse conversions. Their concerns center on whether local infrastructure, emergency services, and medical facilities can support sudden influxes of hundreds or thousands of detainees.
Arrests Expand Beyond Criminal Targets
The population surge is driven partly by a significant shift in who is being arrested. In Northern California alone, immigration agents arrested roughly five times as many people without apparent criminal records during the first nine months of expanded enforcement operations as in the entire prior year. That pattern has repeated across major metropolitan areas, with agents increasingly conducting operations at courthouses, workplaces, and residential neighborhoods.
For families affected by immigration enforcement, understanding the bail and bond process remains a critical first step. Immigration bonds function differently from criminal bail, and the expanded detention population has created significant backlogs in bond hearings at immigration courts nationwide.
What Comes Next
The contractor change at Camp East Montana is expected to take effect within 60 days. Amentum Services has committed to increasing medical staffing levels and addressing ventilation and sanitation issues that have plagued the facility since it opened. Whether those improvements materialize — and whether they extend to the dozens of other facilities operating under similar strain — remains an open question.
Congressional oversight committees have signaled interest in holding hearings on detention conditions later this spring, though no dates have been confirmed. In the meantime, the detained population continues to grow, and the gap between detention capacity and humane standards of care shows no signs of narrowing.
Related on Jail411
- Texas Jail & Prison Directory — Find facilities, visitation info, and inmate lookup for Texas detention centers
- How to Find Someone in Jail or Detention — Step-by-step guide to locating detained individuals
- How Bail Bonds Work — Understanding the bond process for criminal and immigration cases
