I cannot in good conscience support additional money for ICE and Border Patrol, especially when the Trump administration has refused to answer our questions and seems committed to furthering the fraud, corruption, lawlessness and constitutional violations we have already seen on their watch.
ICE and Border Patrol have more than enough funding available because of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which provided a whopping $165 billion for DHS, with $85 billion alone for ICE.
I support funding the Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, and other agencies under DHS, which is why I have instead signed on to a bill that provides a full appropriation for all of DHS excluding ICE and Border Patrol.
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Kristi Noem goes down as one of the most - if not the most - corrupt, incompetent Homeland Security Secretaries in our country’s history.
Her firing was long overdue.
Our community must remain vigilant and committed to the continued fight while rejoicing that this dark chapter is over.
It also does not mean the Trump administration will not continue to exploit El Paso for their immigration enforcement purposes - including with the administration’s purchase of warehouses in Socorro.
While reports of its closure are cause for a sigh of relief, it does not mean an end to my determination to seek accountability, both for Acquisition Logistics and DHS.
Instead, it promoted the dehumanization of immigrants and lined the pockets of a corrupt, incompetent private prison corporation.
Camp East Montana should have never opened. The $1.24 billion cost for this facility could have been used for healthcare, nutrition programs, and a litany of other things to improve our society and our country.
It represents the epitome of fraud, waste, abuse, and the exploitation of human suffering at the hands of private prison corporations and the Trump administration.
🚨 CAMP EAST MONTANA REPORTEDLY SET TO CLOSE
The Trump administration has used El Paso as ground zero for its sick, twisted immigration enforcement policies for years, and Camp East Montana is no different.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
There has been nothing but crisis after crisis inside the walls of this tent city. I again renew my call for DHS to shut down Camp East Montana and for the Department of Justice to investigate the contractor for fraud.
While on one hand, it is a good thing that the measles outbreak is being taken seriously, on the other hand, I am alarmed that a preventable crisis has created conditions where detainees can only access their lawyers virtually.
Equally disappointing, as has been the case with every crisis inside the facility, ICE did not communicate with my office proactively about the closure of the facility to attorneys and visitors.
There has also been consistently sub-par access to hygiene, janitorial and laundry services. Whether this has been deliberate on the part of the contractor, or a result of incompetence, the end result is the same: a violation of federal standards and outright fraud.
Despite what I was initially told about the level of medical care inside the facility, it became very clear to me early on that serious medical issues were being overlooked and, in some cases, medical attention was non-existent for urgent health issues.
During my several oversight visits, I have never seen personnel wearing masks or PPE in order to prevent the spread communicable disease. I’ve been informed the staff is finally getting PPE, but I cannot personally confirm that is the case.
In addition to the thousands of detainees housed at CEM, there are likely hundreds of El Pasoans employed there, along with 56 members of the Texas National Guard.
There are 14 active measles cases inside the facility and 112 individuals are being isolated. This is on the heels of prior COVID and tuberculosis outbreaks there. I’ve also learned the alarming news that there has been an effort to quarantine detainees with measles at our local hospitals.
Camp East Montana, which is run by Acquisition Logistics, a private corporation with no prior experience in running immigration detention facilities, is closed to visitors and attorneys until March 19th or 20th because of a measles outbreak.
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Congress and the American people deserve transparency from a Department of Defense falling woefully short on keeping us informed.
Between the airspace shutdowns in El Paso and Fort Hancock and the friendly fire that shot down three F-15s, we deserve answers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...
Americans want a government that focuses on our spiraling debt, escalating costs, and a deteriorating quality of life in our own country.
Speaker Johnson must immediately call the House back so we can vote on the Iran war powers resolution and stop this war.
And now Donald Trump has launched a massive military operation, risking a prolonged war and endangering our troops.
Americans do not want war.
Either the Trump administration lied then or is lying now when they claim our country faces an imminent threat.
Because the president and members of his administration so readily and easily lied to the American public, they cannot ever be taken at their word.
In June of last year, the Trump administration declared to the world that Iran’s nuclear program was “completely and totally obliterated.”
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Such an inexperienced, incompetent private prison corporation does not share our community’s interests or those of the detainees. For these reasons and more, I continue my calls for Camp East Montana to be shut down and Acquisition Logistics to be investigated.
This public health crisis is a direct result of the manner in which Acquisition Logistics operates the facility: an explicit effort to maximize profits at the expense of federal standards for services such as medical attention.
It should come as no surprise that there is a measles outbreak at Camp East Montana.
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elpasomatters.org/2026/02/26/m...
This marks the fourth letter I’ve sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.
Read the full letter below 👇🏽
escobar.house.gov/news/documen...
Today, I - along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress - sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana.
