Mostly yes, with one common mix-up. The original Fort Bliss detention contract, awarded by the Army in July 2025 and valued at up to $1.2 billion or $1.3 billion depending on the report, went to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small firm with no detention experience, after a limited competition among small businesses. The no-bid deal came later: in March 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement handed the camp to Amentum Services without competition. No authority has reported a finding of fraud by either company.
Where it stands: El Paso Matters reported in late July 2026 that ICE “plans to extend the no-bid contract of the firm that runs Camp East Montana in East El Paso through Sept. 30, 2027, at a potential additional cost to taxpayers of $776 million, the notice says.” That was the latest contract step found as of Oct. 26.
Responses from those involved, in full where given: the Homeland Security Department’s spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, said in 2025 that “under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” and that the camp “will offer everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers, including access to legal representation and a law library, access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals.” An Army spokesperson declined to discuss the deal, citing litigation. When it brought in Amentum, an ICE spokesperson said, “Amentum’s size, maturity and pedigree make them the right partner at the right time,” and DHS said, “Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading.” Acquisition Logistics CEO Ken Wagner did not respond to the AP in 2025 or 2026, Amentum did not respond to NBC News or Scripps News, and an Amentum spokesperson referred El Paso Matters to ICE.
Fort Bliss detention contract: what checks out
| Claim | Verdict | Source of the answer |
|---|---|---|
| A $1.2B award went to a small firm, then a no-bid replacement (tracker headline) | Accurate as reported | AP, Stars and Stripes, GAO |
| The winner had never run a detention site | Accurate as reported | AP; GAO |
| The first contract was no-bid | Not supported by the record | Pentagon: 12 other bids |
| Amentum’s contract was no-bid | Accurate as reported | GAO: noncompetitive award |
| The winner was a shell company in a house | Partly accurate | Home address, but prior federal work |
| ICE fired the firm for poor performance | Partly accurate | Terminated “for convenience”; no reason given |
| Millions in tax money were wasted | Accurate as reported | GAO estimates |
| The contractors committed fraud | Not supported by the record | Escobar’s allegation; no finding |
The camp is one of the contracting entries on our Trump corruption tracker. Details for each verdict are below.
How big was the award?
The figure depends on what is counted. Stars and Stripes reported that the Army first announced “a nearly $232 million firm-fixed-price contract,” and that “Bloomberg News reported the latest contract to detain migrants at Fort Bliss has a value of nearly $1.3 billion.” The AP put the ceiling at up to $1.2 billion in August 2025 and at $1.3 billion in March 2026. The Government Accountability Office, Congress’s audit agency, said in its June 9, 2026 report that the Army “awarded and administered the $1.3 billion facility contract.”
None of those numbers is money paid. By March 2026, the AP reported, the contract “has caused the government to commit nearly $600 million so far.” The tracker’s $1.2 billion headline figure is the ceiling first reported by the AP, not a spending total.
Was the first contract really no-bid?
No, though the field was narrow. “Acquisition Logistics’ bid was selected from among 12 others, according to the Pentagon,” Stars and Stripes reported. The AP explained that “The bidding was open only to small firms such as Acquisition Logistics, which receives preferential status because it’s classified as a veteran and Hispanic-owned small disadvantaged business.”
GAO’s report adds why the pool was thin. The Army used an existing small-business vehicle called WEXMAC to move quickly, and “According to ICE contracting officials, this was the first time WEXMAC was used for detention facility services.” GAO found that “most of the WEXMAC contractors that submitted offers for the Camp East Montana contract did not have prior experience providing detention services,” and that the Army and ICE “also selected a contractor that did not have prior experience providing detention services.”
A losing bidder, Gemini Tech Services, protested to GAO, and the AP reported that “A legal appeal is also pending with a U.S. federal court in Washington.” We did not find a published outcome of either challenge.
Shell company? What the AP found
The AP reported that Acquisition Logistics “had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million,” that it “lacks a functioning website” and that it “lists as its address a modest home in suburban Virginia owned by a 77-year-old retired Navy flight officer.” Those facts drive the “shell company” label online.
The same AP story shows a working contractor, though. It reported that the firm’s “past jobs include repairing small boats for the Air Force, providing information technology support to the Defense Department and building temporary offices to aid with immigration enforcement, federal records show.” No source reviewed here describes it as a shell, and no source links its owners to Trump or his officials. The rating is partly accurate.
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Why the firm was replaced
ICE never said. The AP wrote in March 2026 that “The spokesperson did not say what prompted the termination of Acquisition Logistics’ contract.” GAO, which reviewed the records, said “ICE terminated the contract for convenience,” a contract clause that lets the government end a deal without proving fault. El Paso Matters described the firm as a contractor “removed for poor performance,” and ICE’s later notice said the Army’s contract “did not accurately reflect ICE’s operational needs or the actual usage of the facility.”
Conditions were under heavy scrutiny at the time. NBC News reported that “By January, three detainees had died while in custody at Camp East Montana,” and GAO found that “The facility opened without meeting key detention standards.” Because the formal ground was convenience, not default, the “fired for poor performance” claim is only partly supported.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, the El Paso Democrat whose district includes the camp, said the firm should be investigated for “the fraud they’ve perpetrated on the American taxpayer.” That is her allegation. As of Oct. 26, no fraud charge, finding or suspension involving Acquisition Logistics or Amentum had been reported.
The waste GAO did find, and the no-bid successor
GAO documented waste, not fraud. “Between August 1 and August 15, 2025, the Army wasted up to $11.5 million for these services,” before any detainees arrived, it said, and “ICE paid about $7.1 million for meals it did not need from October 1, 2025, through March 12, 2026.” DHS agreed with GAO’s recommendations. The Pentagon pushed back on the findings while accepting the fix. In GAO’s words, “DOD agreed to implement our recommendation. However, DOD stated that they disagree with our conclusions that led to the recommendation.”
The replacement skipped competition. GAO said that “On March 12, 2026, ICE awarded a noncompetitive, undefinitized contract to a different vendor to begin operating the facility on April 18, 2026.” El Paso Matters reported that Amentum’s initial deal was worth $452 million, and that “In all, Virginia-based Amentum stands to be paid more than $1.2 billion if it operates the camp from March 2026 through September 2027, the notice says.” ICE’s justification warned that “Any lapse in contract coverage would directly threaten the life, safety, and well-being of detainees, severely disrupt law enforcement operations, and expose the government to substantial operational, legal, and humanitarian risks.” For how the wider build-out is paid for, read our look at the tax dollars behind ICE detention growth, and compare the Florida camp in our Alligator Alcatraz contracts fact check.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who got the Fort Bliss detention contract?
The Army awarded it in July 2025 to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small Virginia company. In March 2026 ICE replaced it with Amentum Services, which had been a subcontractor at the camp.
Was the Fort Bliss detention contract no-bid?
The first contract was not: the Pentagon said Acquisition Logistics was chosen over 12 other small-business bids. The replacement contract with Amentum was awarded without competition, and ICE has moved to extend it the same way.
How much is the Camp East Montana contract worth?
The original award was reported at up to $1.2 billion or $1.3 billion. El Paso Matters reported that Amentum could be paid more than $1.2 billion from March 2026 through September 2027 under ICE’s plans.
Did the government find fraud at Fort Bliss?
No fraud finding has been reported. GAO found millions of dollars in waste and missed detention standards. Rep. Veronica Escobar has called for the contractors to be investigated for fraud, but that is her allegation.
Sources
- Army awards contract for 5,000-capacity detention facility at Fort Bliss — Stars and Stripes, July 22, 2025
- Mystery surrounds Richmond-area home tied to firm behind $1.2B Army Texas tent-camp contract — The Associated Press via WTVR, August 28, 2025
- ICE replaces contractor at largest detention camp after scrutiny of living conditions — The Associated Press via WTOP, March 13, 2026
- Fort Bliss detention center to get new operator after scrutiny — NBC News via NBC New York, March 2026
- Immigration Detention: Waste and Performance Issues at Camp East Montana Provide Valuable Lessons for Future Facilities (GAO-26-108886) — U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 9, 2026
- New contractor at troubled ICE detention center has dozens of past federal violations — Scripps News, 2026
- ICE extends no-bid contract for Camp East Montana in El Paso, rejecting calls for closure — El Paso Matters, July 28, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.