U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison Conducts Oversight of Nation’s Largest Detention Facility in Texas Where Minnesotans Are Being Held
March 25, 2026
Thousands of Minnesotans have been sent to Camp East Montana in El Paso, with alarming reports of inadequate medical care and human rights abuses
EL PASO, TX – This week, U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-03) conducted an unannounced oversight visit of the Camp East Montana immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas.
Camp East Montana is currently the largest detention facility in the nation, holding 3,000 people a day on average in a makeshift tent encampment. The Trump Administration intends to hold up to 5,000 people at this location.
Thousands of Minnesotans who were originally detained at the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis have been flown and held at Camp East Montana in Texas.
“Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life better and more affordable for Americans – not for creating mass detention centers to house tens of thousands of people and violate human rights. I’m horrified by the cruelty, inhumanity, and inadequate care I’ve seen both at Whipple and Camp East Montana. The United States can and must be better than this. We cannot allow the Trump Administration to keep expanding these operations in our country.
“We all saw the horrors of ICE’s abuses in Minnesota – and the power of calling it out. Exposing the truth of what is happening through transparency is the only way we can get accountability from this administration. We must continue to speak out against these egregious and expensive operations,” said Congresswoman Kelly Morrison.
Rep. Morrison’s Oversight Visit
Rep. Kelly Morrison, a doctor for more than 20 years, made the trip to Texas after being notified that several of her constituents were being detained there, and having heard disturbing reports of inadequate medical care and human rights abuses.
Rep. Morrison has heard deeply concerning reports from Minnesotans, including from the family of a pregnant woman who couldn't get adequate prenatal care, a man with diabetes who is not receiving the medication he needs, and multiple constituents with similar concerns – not receiving the medication, medical attention, or even the basic necessities like food that they need.
When she arrived at Camp East Montana on Monday afternoon, Rep. Morrison was initially denied entry at the gate and forced to wait more than an hour before she was eventually allowed into the facility.
Once she was allowed in, the staff at the facility did not allow her to see any of her constituents or speak with anyone who was being detained there.
Camp East Montana - The Nation’s Largest Detention Facility
The Trump Administration awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build this massive tent encampment last year. The $1.2 billion contract for the site was given to a private company that had never operated an ICE facility before and had no experience running a correction facility.
At least three people have died at Camp East Montana since December, including one ruled a homicide. There have been widely documented reports of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition, and emotional distress. The facility was forced to close to visitors last month after a measles outbreak.
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Additional Background
Under federal law, Members of Congress have the right to conduct unannounced oversight of DHS facilities used for immigration detention, including facilities run by ICE and those operated by private companies.
After being unlawfully denied entry into the Whipple detention facility earlier this year, Rep. Morrison joined a lawsuit with her colleagues suing the Trump Administration for blocking Congressional oversight of federal detention facilities. Since then, Rep. Morrison has performed congressional oversight of the Whipple detention facility in Minneapolis several times, visiting most recently last month.
As a physician, Rep. Morrison has been especially concerned about the potentially life-threatening lack of medical equipment and care at these ICE detention facilities, including overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care, and other inhumane conditions.
Watch a video on Rep. Morrison’s visit here:
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Read a transcript of the video here:
I came to Camp East Montana this morning to meet with my constituents who are detained here.
I've heard from countless constituents about the conditions inside Camp East Montana.
I've heard about a pregnant woman in her third trimester who was not getting adequate prenatal care.
I heard from family members about a man who has diabetes who is not getting his diabetes medication.
What I saw here was horrific. It is a gigantic complex. There are five huge buildings that can hold up to 5000 detainees.
I was allowed to see one pod that would house between 64 and 72 people.
It is full of metal bunk beds that are crammed together.
There are metal tables in the middle of this structure, and that is where people spend almost all day, every day. They eat and sleep there and there they sit.
I went to the Whipple building in Minnesota when my constituents and Minnesotans were detained there.
Many of them were sent here.
I demanded to see my constituents here at Camp East Montana, and I was denied access to them.
I was not allowed to speak with any of my constituents or any detainees here.
I will continue to fight for them, just like I fought for my right to provide Congressional oversight at the Whipple building and here at Camp East Montana.
This cannot continue to happen in our country, and I am not going to quit fighting.
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