WASHINGTON — A hastily constructed immigrant detention facility on a military base in Texas wasted millions in federal funding and failed to meet basic standards, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonpartisan government watchdog. 

The report by the Government Accountability Office documenting problems at Camp East Montana is one of the first independent investigations into a facility quickly constructed from the $170 billion in immigration enforcement and detention funding provided by Republicans’ “big beautiful” law enacted in July 2025 as part of the president’s mass deportation campaign. The camp is considered the largest immigrant detention center in the United States.

The Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August 2025 set up the soft-sided detention site of Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was intended to hold as many as 5,000 immigrants and is still currently operating under a private  contractor as well as ICE.

The facility was plagued with several tuberculosis cases and at least four detainee deaths, with one ruled a homicide by the local coroner. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit against the government over inhumane conditions. 

“The facility also did not meet key detention standards, risking the safety and security of detained noncitizens and staff,” GAO said.

The report came as the U.S. House this week prepares to take final steps to pass a $70 billion package to fund immigration enforcement until the end of fiscal year 2029. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law.

Congressional Democrats requested that GAO do a report on Camp East Montana, including Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Gary Peters of Michigan and Rep. Bennie Thomspon of Mississippi. 

Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that he was concerned the U.S. military was responsible for the quick construction of the detention camp.

“Preventable deaths, inhumane conditions, and millions of dollars in waste are the direct result of the Pentagon cutting corners and handing a billion-dollar contract to an inexperienced vendor that wrote its own performance standards,” Reed said.

$1.3 billion contract

GAO investigators found that the Department of Defense’s contracting vehicle used to handle the $1.3 billion contract for Camp East Montana provided no flexibility and resulted in paying for meals and employee services during times when no immigrants were detained at the facility, resulting in millions of dollars wasted. 

For example, the Army paid the full cost for guards, medical services, transportation, meals and other services from Aug. 1, 2025 to Aug. 15, 2025, when there were no detainees at the facility, wasting up to $11.5 million, GAO said. 

“Further, because the Army set a fixed price for meals based on the capacity of the facility, it paid about an additional $423,000 for meals it did not need when the facility was operating below its designated capacity from August 16, 2025, through September 30, 2025,” according to the GAO report. 

Same failures could repeat, GAO says

GAO investigators also noted that the same mistakes could be made with the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing move to spend $38 billion to convert warehouses for the purpose of detaining thousands of immigrants. 

“GAO points out that ICE’s planned facility expansion—a $38 billion program to convert warehouses into detention facilities using the same contracting vehicle—risks repeating every one of these failures at a dramatically larger scale,” according to the report. 

Investigators made four recommendations, including that ICE consider tiered pricing for food to account for fluctuations in populations of detained immigrants and that ICE ensure that new facilities meet detention standards before housing immigrants. 

The report notes that DHS and DOD agreed with the recommendations. DOD deferred comment to DHS, which did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

Homicide investigated

Investigators also raised use-of-force concerns, including one in January in which an autopsy found the death of a detainee to be due to asphyxia and ruled it a homicide. 

“However, the contractor did not provide use of force and death reports to ICE, as required,” according to the report. “In addition, evidence associated with the incident was missing or destroyed.”

Durbin, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee,  called the GAO report “damning.”

“We now know even more details of how dangerous and irresponsible the Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign truly is,” he said in a statement. “Excessive use of force, lacking medical and mental health care, and wasted taxpayer dollars are emblematic of this mass deportation scheme. The American people have rightfully expressed outrage at these policies, and it’s time to hold ICE and their private contractors responsible.”

GAO investigators noted several health issues. They pointed out that none of the detainees with HIV or diabetes had treatment plans in place. 

Also, facility employees did not follow proper procedure for tuberculosis screening. One contractor used a questionnaire rather than administering the required skin tests for tuberculosis. 

Investigators found that as a result in November, a detained immigrant with tuberculosis was housed with the general immigrant population. 

Authorities in Yellowstone County are investigating after a mother reported that a 6-year-old student brought a vape device onto a school bus in Shepherd, used it and shared it with other children, reported KTVQ News.

The mother, who requested anonymity to protect her daughter’s identity, said via the news report that her child admitted to trying the vape after another student brought it on board.

“She told me, ‘Mom, I have to be honest with you. Another kid on the bus had a vape,’” the mother said. “And I was like, ‘And you tried it?’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, I did.’”

The mother told local news reporters that she immediately contacted school officials after learning of the incident, which she said had occurred days earlier without the school’s knowledge. “The next morning, I went to the school and let them know,” she said. “They didn’t know anything, and this was now day three.”

According to the news report, the Shepherd School District notified the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Mike Linder said a guardian of the child who brought the vape was initially cited for child endangerment, but that the citation has since been rescinded. The county attorney’s office is reviewing the case.

District officials reportedly declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

The incident has raised concerns among parents about young children vaping. Caroline Joyce, executive director of Parents Against Vaping, said such cases, while rare, reflect a growing trend.

“Vaping is starting to reach more elementary school-aged children,” Joyce said via the article. “These products are widely available and appealing.”

Joyce said vaping poses serious health risks and criticized marketing practices, which target youth. “Six is incredibly alarming,” she said of the child’s age. “It’s an indication of systemic failures.”

She added that addressing the issue will require more than punishment, calling for broader education and prevention efforts.

Related: Bus Driver Investigated for Vaping Inside School Bus
Related: 9-Year-Old Arrested for Bringing Loaded Gun onto Florida School Bus
Related: Amid Youth Vaping Epidemic, Prevention Efforts Begin to Target School Buses
Related: Mother Faces Charges After Allegedly Assaulting School Bus Driver

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