Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas’s 16th district has raised concerns over what she describes as a lack of transparency and communication from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding oversight at the Camp East Montana detention facility on Fort Bliss.
In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, Escobar outlined issues her office has faced in conducting oversight visits. “On September 22, 2025, my office was abruptly informed that their planned visit to Camp East Montana scheduled for September 23, 2025, had been cancelled. ICE had approved my staff for a visit to the facility in two separate email confirmations on September 16th and September 18th; the visit was originally requested on September 10th. However, less than 24 hours before my staff’s planned visit, ICE rescinded their confirmation without explanation. After failing to respond to emails asking for details on the cancellation, ICE eventually told my staff over the phone that their visit had been cancelled due to ‘operational tempos’ at Camp East Montana. This is an unacceptable response from an agency that is currently in violation of Section 527 of Public Law 118-47 and illegally barring Members of Congress and their staff from their oversight duties.”
Escobar stated that this recent cancellation follows previous difficulties with access since Camp East Montana opened. “The cancellation of my staff’s scheduled visit is the latest in a string of dishonest and opaque communication from ICE with my office since the opening of Camp East Montana. ICE originally denied a request from my office to tour Camp East Montana at the beginning of August, explaining the site was not safe due to ongoing construction. Despite these apparent safety concerns, ICE was already holding people at the site. My office was ultimately granted an opportunity to conduct oversight at Camp East Montana on August 18th and August 28th.”
During those visits, Escobar reported observing several issues inside the facility: “During both of our visits, my staff and I observed serious issues regarding insufficient staffing, lack of access to the facility for legal counsel, and unresponsive phones. Detainees we spoke to told us about being served rotten food and shared urgent concerns over the quality of the drinking water at the facility, which they reported had a bad smell and made them feel sick.”
Escobar said her office followed up after those visits but has not received formal responses: “Following our oversight visits to Camp East Montana, my staff followed up with our ICE liaisons with a list of questions on September 3rd to address remaining concerns that were not answered while we were on-site. As of the date of this letter, my team has yet to receive a formal response from ICE. Similarly, my office provided detainees at Camp East Montana with Privacy Release Forms (PRFs) so that our office can follow up on individuals’ cases. Additionally, my team has 21 pending inquiries with staff at Camp East Montana, including multiple follow-up inquiries, that have also gone unanswered. This is highly unusual given my office’s working relationship with local ICE officials and is totally unacceptable.”
The Congresswoman included several questions in her letter requesting information about staffing levels if capacity increases; vendor names for food services; supervisory hiring practices; processes ensuring phone responsiveness; construction updates within visitor areas; coordination with local public health officials; water sourcing and testing protocols; and expected timelines for responding to Privacy Release Form inquiries.
Veronica Escobar has represented Texas’s 16th congressional district since winning election in 2018 against Rick Seeberger by more than two-to-one margin. She successfully defended her seat against Irene Armendariz-Jackson in subsequent elections: in 2020 she won with nearly two-thirds support (64.7%), again prevailing in 2022 (63.5%), and most recently securing victory in 2024 with almost three-fifths majority (59.5%).
The full text of Congresswoman Escobar’s letter is available online.
