U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News Digital that Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss in El Paso will remain open and is undergoing an operational upgrade after the agency moved to terminate a $1.2 billion contract.
“Camp East Montana is NOT closing, quite the opposite,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. The spokesperson said, “Rather, ICE has contracted with a new provider following Secretary Noem’s termination of the old contract inherited from the Department of War.”
ICE said the new contract will allow the facility to maintain what the agency described as the “highest detention standards” while expanding oversight. The agency said the contractor will provide increased on-site medical care, additional staffing and a “PRECISE quality assurance surveillance plan.”
The Washington Post reported that the facility could face closure amid scrutiny of its operations and that a document distributed to ICE staff indicated the agency was drafting a letter to terminate the $1.2 billion contract. The facility has been used to house thousands of detainees as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, the Post reported. ICE did not immediately provide details on the identity of the new contractor or the timeline for full implementation, Fox News Digital reported.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
