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Measles Outbreak Locks Down Nation’s Largest ICE Camp as DHS Reviews Contract

An internal memo reported by the Washington Post shows ICE drafting a letter to end the $1.2 billion deal, with DHS saying no decision is final.

A Cuban man in his 50s, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, adapts to life in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, after agreeing to self-deport last year from the Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he says he desperately requested medication to treat diabetes and high blood pressure and never received it. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
The Camp East Montana detention facility, located on the outskirts of El Paso at Fort Bliss, is seen on Sept. 7, 2025.
FILE - Cars wait to enter Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Sept. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca, File)

Overview

  • Officials confirm 14 measles cases at Camp East Montana; about 112 people are isolated and in-person legal and family visits are suspended until March 19–20.
  • ICE says infected detainees have been separated and the agency is coordinating with public health authorities to contain the outbreak.
  • The El Paso tent facility averages roughly 3,000 detainees and remains the country’s largest ICE site, though recent reporting puts the population near 1,500.
  • Since opening last year under a contract with Acquisition Logistics LLC, the camp has logged three in-custody deaths, including one ruled a homicide, and earlier COVID-19 and tuberculosis cases.
  • DHS says it is reviewing the facility and contract that runs through September 2027 after a Post report of a draft termination letter, as lawmakers press for a shutdown.