A federal watchdog criticized the Trump administration for how it managed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas, after longstanding humanitarian concerns about its operations.
The Government Accountability Office released a report on Camp East Montana that indicated multiple management failures, including opening the facility on a hasty timeline and hiring an inexperienced contractor. Such decisions resulted in “millions of dollars of waste” on meals and other operations at the country’s largest ICE center, triggered “serious performance and oversight challenges,” and resulted in a facility that did not meet key detention standards, “risking the safety and security of detained noncitizens and staff,” according to the GAO.
“The facility initially did not have perimeter security cameras, outdoor recreation space, or space for attorney and family visitation,” the GAO, a nonpartisan federal agency, wrote of Camp East Montana. “ICE did not identify these issues because it did not inspect the facility prior to housing detained noncitizens there, as required by ICE policy. After the facility opened, ICE reported additional problems, including gaps in medical services, the loss of a loaded firearm, and unsanitary conditions, among other issues.”
