Camp East Montana, a newly opened migrant detention facility at Fort Bliss in Texas, has become the center of controversy as it begins operations. The facility, currently able to house 1,000 detainees with capacity to expand to 5,000, is the largest of several new sites opening nationwide.
Protesters and immigrant advocates criticized the opening over the weekend.
“We are demanding that this administration do what they say they're going to do if they're not going to close the camps,” said Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. She emphasized the need for legal access, calling for due process protections for detainees.
The backlash comes amid growing concerns over detention conditions nationwide. A federal judge heard arguments regarding alleged civil rights violations at a separate facility in Florida, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” where detainees claim they’ve been denied access to attorneys and held without charges.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D), who toured Camp East Montana, questioned the facility's cost.
“I want you to think about how much good that money could do in El Paso,” Escobar said, suggesting the funding would be better used on local services like childcare, universal pre-K, or health care. “Instead, it is being used to fund mass deportation by the Trump administration.”
In contrast, Republican Sen. John Cornyn defended the facility, stating that those held there are not low-level offenders but individuals who failed to appear in court and have no legal right to remain in the U.S.
“There is no due process concern,” he said.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, called the facility part of a broader federal strategy.
She said Camp East Montana is built to meet “historic demand” for detention space and will provide full access to legal resources, medical care, and other essential services.
