Empty beds, full bills—millions paid before anyone arrived
En el corazón del desierto texano, un campamento de detención migratoria construido con urgencia presidencial se ha convertido en símbolo de lo que ocurre cuando la velocidad de la política supera a la prudencia institucional. Camp East Montana, la mayor instalación de detención de migrantes en Estados Unidos, fue auditada por el Congreso y hallada culpable de derrochar millones en fondos públicos mientras fallaba en proteger la vida y dignidad de quienes albergaba. Dos personas murieron —una en circunstancias clasificadas como homicidio— y las condiciones básicas de salud y seguridad nunca se cumplieron. La historia de este campamento es, en el fondo, la historia de un Estado que actúa con prisa y sin memoria de sus propias obligaciones.
- El gobierno pagó $11,5 millones por servicios en un campamento vacío y $7,1 millones en comidas para detenidos que no existían, revelando un sistema contractual sin frenos ni controles reales.
- Un detenido murió por asfixia en enero de 2026 en circunstancias clasificadas como homicidio, y otro se quitó la vida en condiciones que violaban los propios protocolos de prevención del suicidio de ICE.
- La instalación abrió sin cámaras de seguridad completas, sin atención médica adecuada y sin espacios para consultas legales, ignorando los estándares mínimos que la misma agencia exige.
- La representante Verónica Escobar calificó los hallazgos de 'explosivos' y exigió el cierre del campamento, la investigación del contratista y la derivación a las autoridades por destrucción de evidencia.
- La Oficina de Responsabilidad Gubernamental advirtió que, sin mecanismos correctivos, el desperdicio podría escalar a decenas de millones más, mientras las condiciones inhumanas persisten.
Camp East Montana, ubicado en los terrenos de Fort Bliss en El Paso, Texas, fue construido apresuradamente en la primavera de 2025 para responder a una orden ejecutiva del presidente Trump que exigía una expansión masiva de la capacidad de detención migratoria. Diseñado para albergar hasta 5,000 personas, se convirtió en la mayor instalación de detención de migrantes del país. Una auditoría del Congreso publicada esta semana revela que también se convirtió en un caso de estudio sobre el colapso institucional cuando la urgencia política desplaza a la supervisión.
El derroche comenzó antes de que llegara el primer detenido. Entre el 1 y el 15 de agosto de 2025, el Ejército de EE.UU. e ICE pagaron al menos $11,5 millones en servicios para un campamento vacío. Entre octubre de 2025 y marzo de 2026, ICE continuó pagando comidas para 5,000 personas cuando el campamento albergaba apenas 1,600, generando $7,1 millones en gastos innecesarios solo en alimentación. La Oficina de Responsabilidad Gubernamental advirtió que, sin ajustes contractuales, el desperdicio podría multiplicarse en futuros ciclos.
El campamento fue operado inicialmente por Acquisition Logistics, un contratista sin experiencia previa en detención migratoria. Las consecuencias fueron graves: la instalación abrió sin cumplir los propios estándares de ICE. Faltaban cámaras de seguridad, espacios de recreación, salas para visitas familiares y consultas legales. Un paciente con tuberculosis fue alojado entre la población general. Detenidos con diabetes y VIH no recibieron tratamiento adecuado.
En enero de 2026, un detenido murió por asfixia; la autopsia clasificó la muerte como homicidio. El contratista no entregó la documentación requerida sobre el uso de la fuerza, y evidencia relacionada con el incidente desapareció. Ese mismo mes, otro detenido murió por suicidio tras ser alojado en condiciones que no cumplían los protocolos de vigilancia, con factores de riesgo conocidos y sin supervisión adecuada.
La representante Verónica Escobar, cuyo distrito incluye El Paso, calificó los hallazgos de 'explosivos' y exigió el cierre del campamento y la investigación del contratista. La pregunta que queda abierta es si alguien actuará sobre estas advertencias antes de que comience el próximo ciclo de contratos.
Camp East Montana sits on the grounds of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas—a sprawling complex of giant tents designed to hold around 5,000 migrants. It is the largest migrant detention facility in the United States, and according to a Congressional audit released this week, it has become a monument to waste, negligence, and systemic failure.
The facility opened in the spring of 2025, hastily constructed in response to a January executive order from President Donald Trump demanding a dramatic expansion of the nation's detention capacity. The order worked. Daily detainee populations surged 71 percent, from roughly 39,000 to over 67,000 people across the system. Camp East Montana was meant to absorb much of that pressure. Instead, it became a case study in how government contracts can spiral into dysfunction when speed overrides oversight.
Start with the money. Between August 1 and August 15, 2025—before a single migrant had arrived at the facility—the U.S. Army and Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid at least $11.5 million for food, security, transportation, and medical services. The camp was empty. The bills kept coming anyway. From October 2025 through March 2026, ICE continued paying for meals for 5,000 people while the facility actually held around 1,600. That gap cost $7.1 million in unnecessary food expenses alone. The Government Accountability Office, Congress's independent audit arm, concluded that without mechanisms to adjust costs to actual population, the waste could balloon to tens of millions more in future contracts.
The facility was initially run by Acquisition Logistics, a contractor with no prior experience operating migrant detention centers. By March 2026, amid mounting complaints, the government transferred operations to Amentum Services. But the damage was already done—and the audit suggests it was structural, not merely operational.
When Camp East Montana began receiving detainees, it did not meet ICE's own safety standards. Security cameras were missing from certain areas. There was insufficient outdoor recreation space. No proper rooms for family visits, attorney consultations, or legal resources. Medical care was fragmented and inadequate. A migrant with tuberculosis was housed among the general population. Detainees with diabetes and HIV did not receive appropriate treatment. In January 2026, one detainee died from asphyxia; an autopsy classified the death as homicide. The contractor failed to provide required documentation about the use of force, and evidence related to the incident disappeared or was destroyed. That same month, another detainee died by suicide. He had known risk factors but was placed in a room that did not meet suicide-watch standards and was left unsupervised for longer than regulations allowed.
Inspectors found dormitories cleaned weekly instead of daily. In some cases, guards offered detainees crackers in exchange for cleaning common areas themselves. The GAO's language was measured but damning: these conditions "contributed to the wasteful expenditure of government resources and to threats to the health and life of detained migrants and facility personnel."
Democratic Representative Verónica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, called the findings "explosive" and demanded the facility be shut down, the contractor investigated, and the destruction of evidence referred to authorities. The GAO warned that without adequate controls, ICE risks continued hemorrhaging of public funds and failure to maintain environments that are safe and humane. The question now is whether anyone will act on that warning before the next contract cycle begins.
Notable Quotes
These problems contributed to the wasteful expenditure of government resources and to threats to the health and life of detained migrants and facility personnel.— Government Accountability Office
Camp East Montana needs to be closed, the contractor investigated, and the destruction of evidence referred to authorities.— Representative Verónica Escobar
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the government keep paying for 5,000 meals when only 1,600 people were there?
The contracts were built on capacity, not occupancy. Once they signed the deal for 5,000 beds, they paid for 5,000 beds—even if most sat empty. There was no mechanism to scale costs down.
So this was a design flaw in how the contract was written?
Exactly. The audit says ICE didn't build in flexibility. They locked in a price for maximum capacity and then had no way to adjust it when reality didn't match the forecast.
What about the deaths? How does that fit into a story about waste?
It doesn't fit neatly. But the audit connects them. Inadequate staffing, poor medical oversight, missing security infrastructure—these aren't separate from the money problem. They're the same problem. You rush to open, you cut corners on safety to save time, you hire inexperienced contractors to save money. People die.
The evidence disappeared in the homicide case. That's not just negligence—that's obstruction.
That's what makes Escobar's call for investigation so pointed. It's not just "we wasted money." It's "we may have covered something up."
Will the facility actually close?
The audit recommends it should. But that depends on whether Congress pushes back or whether the administration simply absorbs the criticism and moves forward. The political will to close it isn't obvious.