U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has terminated the contractor running its largest detention facility, Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, and replaced it with a more experienced firm, the agency announced on Friday. The decision follows ongoing scrutiny over living conditions that detainees have described as inhumane since the camp's rapid construction and opening last year.
The facility, which houses an average of nearly 3,000 detainees in six long tent encampments, has faced mounting evidence of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition, and emotional distress. A recent measles outbreak also affected the camp, prompting calls from several Democratic members of Congress for its closure. Detainees have reported difficulties obtaining medication and healthcare, significant weight loss due to insufficient food, and fear of security guards who are known to use force. The Associated Press reported last week that at least 130 calls to 911 were made in the camp's first five months, including two deaths, several suicide attempts, fights, and medical emergencies.
The ousted contractor, Acquisition Logistics, LLC, had been awarded a deal worth up to $1.3 billion to build and manage the camp at Fort Bliss, despite having no prior experience running an ICE detention facility. The company had never won a federal contract exceeding $16 million and lacked a functioning website. ICE has selected Amentum Services, Inc., which previously worked as a subcontractor at the camp, as the new prime contractor, according to a federal notice published on Wednesday and an unnamed agency spokesperson. The Washington Post reported the switch earlier this week.
ICE did not specify what prompted the termination of Acquisition Logistics' contract, which records show was set to run until September 30, 2027, and has already cost the government nearly $600 million. The agency said it recently completed an inspection of conditions at the camp, but the findings have not been made public. Acquisition Logistics and its president and CEO, Ken Wagner, did not respond to requests for comment. ICE stated that Amentum, known for its work with the military and intelligence agencies, was best suited to take over and improve operations, with a focus on higher standards of medical care, more thorough case processing, and improved accountability.
Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes the camp, expressed relief at the contractor change but reiterated her calls for the facility to be shut down and for an investigation into the contractors involved. “Whether the new contractor is an improvement remains to be seen, and I remain deeply concerned about the chronic substandard conditions that exist at Camp East Montana,” she said. Amentum, based in Chantilly, Virginia, has provided services for ICE and other Department of Homeland Security divisions in the past. The no-bid contract to run the camp is for 180 days, and it is unclear what will happen after that period. The contracting notice cited the “proprietary nature” of the camp’s infrastructure as the reason no other vendor could provide uninterrupted services.
