Congressional Watchdog Finds Security and Health Failures at Largest ICE Detention Facility

Federal oversight gaps at the nation's largest immigration detention center raise questions about whether DHS contract monitoring protocols are functioning as designed.

A congressional watchdog report has identified what it describes as 'serious performance and oversight challenges' at Camp East Montana in Texas, the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in the country, according to findings published and reported by NBC News on June 9, 2026. Among the documented deficiencies: a security guard lost a loaded weapon inside the facility, and the center failed to conduct required tuberculosis testing on detainees.

The watchdog body — identified in NBC News reporting as a congressional oversight group, the specific committee or office of which was not named in available source material — released its findings as part of a broader review of ICE detention operations. The report's full title, release date, and committee attribution were not specified in available wire reports; the document itself, which would be publicly available through the relevant House or Senate committee's official record, would confirm those details.

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Camp East Montana is operated under a federal detention services contract. USASpending.gov contract records for ICE detention facilities in Texas would identify the private contractor responsible for day-to-day operations, including security staffing and medical screening protocols, at the time the lapses occurred. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security had not issued a formal public response to the findings as of the date of this report.

The tuberculosis testing failure carries public health implications that extend beyond the facility itself, as TB screening is a standard intake requirement under ICE's own Performance-Based National Detention Standards, a policy document publicly accessible through ICE's official website. Whether the facility was cited, fined, or placed on a corrective action plan under its contract terms is not confirmed in available source material; the contract modification or cure notice, if issued, would appear in the USASpending.gov contract history for the relevant award.

What remains unknown: the full scope of the report, the number of detainees affected by the TB testing lapse, whether the lost weapon was recovered, and what corrective actions DHS or the contractor have taken. The complete watchdog report, the specific congressional committee that commissioned it, and any ICE written response would answer those questions and are expected to be part of the public congressional record.