El Paso, Texas — Two active cases of tuberculosis and 18 cases of COVID-19 have been identified at a massive immigration detention center in El Paso, according to Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who recently toured the facility and raised renewed concerns about detainee health and safety.
The cases were reported at Camp East Montana, a 5,000-bed tent detention complex built at Fort Bliss and currently the largest immigration detention center in the United States. Escobar said that roughly 3,100 people were being held at the site as of late January, including more than 300 women. She added that about one-third of detainees suffer from chronic illnesses and that between 200 and 300 people require daily insulin.
Escobar said many of the problems she has previously raised remain unresolved, including medical care, overcrowding, and overall conditions. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not responded to requests for comment regarding the reported infections.
The disclosure follows other recent public health concerns within the immigration detention system. Less than a week earlier, two measles cases were confirmed at a separate ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, prompting a lockdown. Tuberculosis and COVID-19 both spread through airborne transmission, intensifying concerns about conditions inside large tent facilities.
Advocacy groups have long warned that Camp East Montana operates under inhumane conditions, citing allegations of physical abuse and medical neglect. Since opening, three detainees have died at the facility. One death, initially described by ICE as medical distress, was later ruled a homicide by the El Paso medical examiner.
Despite mounting criticism, federal officials are reportedly considering building additional large-scale detention centers in Texas.
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