Camp East Montana's rapid launch under a $1.3 billion contract led to taxpayer-funded inefficiencies, safety concerns, and oversight failures, according to a new Government Accountability Office review.
WASHINGTON, D.C. | A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is raising serious questions about how federal agencies rapidly expanded immigration detention operations following the Trump administration’s January 2025 immigration enforcement directives.
The report, released June 9, 2026, found that Camp East Montana—the largest immigration detention facility ever operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—experienced significant cost overruns, operational inefficiencies, and security shortcomings after it was opened on an accelerated timeline at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
According to GAO auditors, the U.S. Army and ICE rushed the planning, procurement, and construction process to meet directives from senior federal leadership, resulting in a series of costly mistakes that taxpayers continue to fund.
