Camp East Montana, the largest detention site operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is drawing renewed congressional scrutiny after reports that three people suffered suspected overdoses at the El Paso, Texas facility — two over Memorial Day weekend and a third in late February.
According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security provided to the El Paso Times, the two suspected cases in May were allegedly linked to an overdose of psychiatric medication and a self-harm incident.
A DHS spokesperson told the outlet that the detainees involved in the May 23 and May 24 incidents were transported to Rio Vista Behavioral Health Center. One detainee was treated and returned to Camp East Montana the same day and remains in stable condition. The other continues to be monitored by ICE medical staff and has since returned to the detention center.
"When there are signs of a detainee self-harming, staff abides by strict prevention and intervention protocol," the spokesperson said, adding that ICE mandates yearly suicide-prevention training and offers detainees mental health services.
On June 17, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David Venturella seeking answers about what she described as "disturbing reports" regarding the suspected overdoses at Camp East Montana. She said the incidents raised concerns about detainee safety, medical oversight, mental health care and accountability at the facility.
"Since Camp East Montana began operations in August 2025, my office, advocates, and the El Paso community have raised grave concerns regarding the facility's conditions, including but not limited to, failures in detainee safety, grossly inadequate medical care, and operational deficiencies," Escobar wrote, citing violations identified during an independent inspection conducted at the facility in April.
Escobar asked how detainees could obtain enough medication to overdose while in federal custody, and — if illicit substances were involved — how they reached the facility at all. She also questioned whether any staff, contractors, or detainees might be tied to smuggling contraband inside.
"These incidents cannot simply be dismissed as isolated medical emergencies. Three separate people are suspected of having overdosed inside a federal detention facility while entirely under the supervision and control of the United States government. That reality alone demands immediate scrutiny," Escobar wrote in her letter.
The February inspection that produced the 49 deficiencies covered areas including use of force, restraints, security, and medical care; 22 of the violations involved force and restraints. The review carried an "acceptable/adequate" rating despite the findings. ICE's parent agency replaced the camp's then-contractor, Acquisition Logistics LLC, with Amentum Services in mid-March 2026.
The El Paso Times reports that dozens of people have died in ICE custody during President Trump's second term, with multiple deaths ruled or reported as suicides. Among them was Victor Manuel Díaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan national who died at Camp East Montana on January 14, 2026, in what ICE described as a presumed suicide that remains under investigation.
