Overview
- The joint Human Rights Watch and ACLU report, released Wednesday, July 15, 2026, is based on 80 interviews and says 64 of 71 detainees interviewed on site reported being assaulted or witnessing assaults by guards.
- Researchers describe systematic failures including delayed or denied medical care, spoiled food, flooded and unsanitary housing, prolonged confinement without outdoor access, and restricted contact with lawyers and family.
- At least three people held at Camp East Montana have died since the facility opened in August 2025, and local and federal reviews include a January 3 death later ruled a homicide and findings that evidence in that case was missing or destroyed.
- Internal ICE inspections documented 49 deficiencies in use of force, security, and medical care and ICE replaced the original contractor in March 2026 while a separate government audit found rushed contracting and mismanagement.
- The report demands closure and independent probes and warns of coerced removals and possible enforced disappearances, while the Department of Homeland Security and ICE have issued categorical denials of the allegations.