Lawsuit Says Camp East Montana Conditions Risk Injuries, Deaths

What is Camp East Montana and who runs it?

Camp East Montana is a tent detention camp built on the Fort Bliss military base near El Paso, Texas, according to The Guardian. It is run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is described in the report as the largest immigration detention facility in the country. Most people held there have no criminal record, the filing says, because the camp holds civil detainees, not people serving criminal sentences.

What does the new court filing allege?

Attorneys filed new documents Thursday night in federal court in El Paso, part of a class-action lawsuit against ICE first filed in May, the Guardian reports. The filing accuses the agency of running conditions it calls "dire," including physical abuse by guards, filthy living areas, and disease outbreaks. The lawsuit says these problems put detainees at risk of serious injury or death, and that the camp has violated dozens of official detention standards since it opened last year, based on reports from inside and outside the federal government.

What do outside experts say about safety at the camp?

Two expert witnesses submitted testimony as part of the filing. Dean Williams, who has run two state prison systems, said conditions at Camp East Montana "shock the conscience" and are "far beyond those of the most secure prisons I have overseen," even though it is a civil facility, according to the Guardian. Dr. Jeffrey Keller, a physician who has overseen detention healthcare in nine states, said in his testimony: "Poor healthcare and unsafe conditions at Camp East Montana have resulted in preventable death and put all people at risk of harm, including serious injury and death."

By the numbers

• 2 state prison systems previously overseen by expert witness Dean Williams, who compared Camp East Montana unfavorably to them.
• 9 states where physician Jeffrey Keller has run detention healthcare operations before reviewing conditions at the camp.

What is the timeline for the lawsuit so far?

• May 2026 — The class-action lawsuit against ICE over Camp East Montana is filed, first reported by the Guardian.
• Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026 — Attorneys file new documents in the case in federal court, western district of Texas, in El Paso, adding expert testimony on health and safety risks.
• Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 — The Guardian publishes details of the filing.

What happens next for ICE and the people detained there?

The filing does not include a response from ICE in the material reviewed, and the agency's position on the specific allegations is not detailed in the report. The case remains pending in federal court in El Paso. The Guardian notes that government and outside reports have flagged standards violations at the facility repeatedly since it opened, and the new filing is meant to show those problems have continued rather than been fixed. Readers following the case can track court filings through the El Paso federal court docket referenced in the original reporting at the Guardian.