EL PASO, Texas — According to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considering closing its Camp East Montana detention facility. Spectrum News 1 has not independently obtained a copy of the document.

According to the Post, the document indicates that ICE is preparing a letter to terminate the $1.2 billion contract with Acquisition Logistics LLC, signed in July of last year. There is no word on when they are planning to close the facility. The facility’s contract with the company is set to expire in September 2027.

What You Need To Know

Documents reviewed by The Washington Post suggest that ICE is considering terminating Camp East Montana’s contract

The $1.2 billion contract was signed in July of last year and is set to expire in September 2027
There is no word on when the facility will close
Camp East Montana has experienced some backlash in recent months after the deaths of three migrants while in custody at the facility, as well as tuberculosis and measles outbreaks, and has been quarantined since Feb. 27

The facility has come under recent scrutiny for several health incidents, including a measles outbreak that has left it quarantined since Feb. 27. There were also reported cases of tuberculosis at the facility.

Camp East Montana has also seen the deaths of three migrants while in custody at the facility. The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of one of those migrants, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a homicide and that his cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The federal government has said that on Jan. 3 Lunas Campos had attempted suicide and that guards were trying to help him, but he died during the struggle.

The other two migrants who died at the facility were Francisco Gaspar-Andres on Dec. 3 and Victor Manuel Diaz on Jan. 14. ICE has said that Gaspar-Andres was suspected to have died of liver and kidney failure, while Manuel Diaz died of a “presumed suicide.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said in response to a Spectrum News request for a statement on the potential closing, “ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody, The contract for Camp East Montana was inherited from the Department of War. DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards. DHS is reviewing this facility and contract. No decisions have been made related to contract extension, termination, or award.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, also released a statement in response to the Post’s story. In it she said, “Camp East Montana should have never opened. The $1.24 billion cost for this facility could have been used for healthcare, nutrition programs, and a litany of other things to improve our society and our country. Instead, it promoted the dehumanization of immigrants and lined the pockets of a corrupt, incompetent private prison corporation.

“While reports of its closure are cause for a sigh of relief, it does not mean an end to my determination to seek accountability, both for Acquisition Logistics and DHS. It also does not mean the Trump administration will not continue to exploit El Paso for their immigration enforcement purposes – including with the administration’s purchase of warehouses in Socorro. Our community must remain vigilant and committed to the continued fight while rejoicing that this dark chapter is over.”