EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 A visit by New Mexico Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez to Camp East Montana is raising new questions about conditions inside what is believed to be one of the nation\u2019s largest immigration detention facilities, including who is being held there, how many people are detained, and what medical issues may be spreading inside.<\/p>\n
Vasquez toured the facility today as part of his oversight duties and said he left \u201cwith more questions than answers.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThe conditions that I saw inside the detention facility today, I believe, are beneath our American values.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julia Spencer reports on New questions raised after Rep. Gabe Vasquez visits Camp East Montana immigration facility (Credit: KFOX14)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
RELATED: <\/a>Internal ICE report details conditions at Camp East Montana<\/a><\/p>\n Vasquez said facility administrators told him there were roughly 820 detainees at this facility on Monday. <\/p>\n He said the facility has reached about 4,000 detainees at its highest point and has a capacity of 5,000.<\/p>\n But Vasquez said what he heard directly from detainees stood out most. <\/p>\n During his visit, Vasquez said he spoke directly with detainees and claims many of them do not have criminal records.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I saw inside today was that the vast majority of detainees at Camp East Montana have no criminal record,\u201d he said, adding that detainees told him fewer than 25 individuals they had encountered were being held on criminal charges.<\/p>\n Vasquez also raised concerns about a lack of transparency. <\/p>\n He says he was unable to obtain basic data from officials at the facility, including how many detainees have criminal histories.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to get answers, I got almost no answers,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cEvery question that I asked related to the specific data at this facility, I was not given those answers.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI had to draw that data from detainees. We will continue to seek those answers, although I\u2019m not confident that I will receive them.\u201d<\/p>\n Vasquez also raised health concerns, saying about 100 detainees are in quarantine with reported cases of measles, tuberculosis, and other illnesses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a country that\u2019s supposed to have eradicated measles, but yet right behind us there\u2019s a hundred folks and many people infected with measles in this detention center,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cThese are supposed to be third world diseases certainly covid the flu and other diseases run rampant inside these facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Vasquez also described reports from detainees alleging limited access to medical care, poor hygiene conditions, and fear of retaliation for speaking out.<\/p>\n He says some detainees reported going days without showers, limited access to basic hygiene products, and delays in receiving medical attention unless their conditions became severe.<\/p>\n