“ICE extends no-bid contract for major detention center in Texas”

What actually happened

ICE published a notice extending, without competitive bidding, the contract for Amentum Services Inc. to keep running Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss, Texas, through September 2027. The extension comes despite reported human rights abuses at the facility and follows a $452 million initial contract awarded to Amentum in March.

Key facts

• ICE plans to extend the no-bid contract of the firm that runs Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, through Sept. 30, 2027, at a potential additional cost of $776 million on top of the initial $452 million contract awarded in March.
• In all, Amentum stands to be paid more than $1.2 billion if it operates the camp from March 2026 through September 2027.
• Democratic members of Congress and advocacy groups have called for the facility's closure over reports that detainees have been routinely mistreated since it opened in August 2025, and a Human Rights Watch/ACLU report alleged staff beat detainees, denied medical care and provided filthy conditions and inedible meals.
• The facility has housed an average of more than 2,000 male and female detainees a day since Oct. 1, though its population has declined significantly in recent months.
• ICE justified skipping competitive bidding by arguing relocating detainees elsewhere would be "impracticable" due to lack of bed space, and that switching contractors would mean replacing Amentum's "proprietary infrastructure" and duplicative costs.

What to watch for

Watch whether Congress or DHS's inspector general forces an audit given prior findings that "the Army and ICE have wasted millions of dollars paying for unnecessary services." Also track whether the declining detainee population (down from over 2,000/day) becomes the pretext for a future cost renegotiation, and whether the HRW/ACLU abuse allegations trigger any independent oversight response before the 2027 contract end date.