EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar raised concerns on Tuesday over fraud and abuse at Camp East Montana following a recent visit to the immigration detention center in El Paso.
In a series of posts on social media, Escobar shared her concerns after a recent unannounced oversight visit to Camp East Montana, a $1.24 billion immigration detention facility, stating that the visit unveiled serious allegations of fraud and abuse.
“After 6 months of oversight visits to Camp East Montana, the $1.24 billion immigration detention facility in El Paso, it’s clear the company running it is defrauding taxpayers, preventing detainees from talking to lawyers, and DHS is assisting them by obstructing Congress,” Escobar wrote in a post on X.
According to Escobar, the facility, operated by a private company, is defrauding taxpayers and obstructing detainees’ access to legal representation, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegedly assisting in these actions by obstructing Congress.
Escobar said this was due to new rules that were imposed by DHS during the visit that prevented congressional staff from accompanying the oversight official and barred communication with detainees due to a lack of “advance notice.”
This visit marked the sixth oversight visit in six months, during which Escobar noted ongoing issues that were observed, including inadequate communication about detainees’ rights and services.
According to Escobar, before ICE informed her of the new rule, one detainee she spoke to, a distraught woman, reported being unable to speak with her detained adult son despite repeated requests.
Further concerns arose when a group of men, held in a temporary wing for over 36 hours, were still in street clothes and had not been tested for tuberculosis, despite two TB cases at the facility.
Civilian staff entering the area were not wearing masks, raising health and safety concerns.
Additionally, detainees in temporary holding were denied access to tablets or phones to contact lawyers, despite being held beyond the designated 24-36-hour period. Two men visiting loved ones at the facility reported being denied entry and having privacy release forms confiscated, hindering legal assistance.
Escobar called for Camp East Montana to be shut down and the operating corporation investigated for failing to provide contracted services.
Escobar’s visit comes after a federal judge issued another order earlier this month that the Trump administration must allow visits to ICE detention facilities, barring the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a requirement that Congressional members provide prior notice of visits.
The ruling was the second order issued against DHS requiring prior notice, with the initial ruling being made on Dec. 19.
The initial ruling stemmed from a lawsuit 13 Democratic members of Congress filed in July after being denied entry to the detention centers to conduct oversight.
Unannounced oversight visits have been crucial for Congress to ensure taxpayer money is used correctly and detainee conditions meet federal standards.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has disagreed, arguing that funds from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act are exempt from oversight laws.
The second federal order came after Noem issued an internal memo on Jan. 8, which reinstated that congressional representatives give DHS a seven-day notice before visiting any detention center sites.
However, on Feb 2, U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb ruled that DHS likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigration detention facilities without a week’s notice.
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