Feb. 18, 2026, 1:00 p.m. MTDemocrat Texas state representatives are raising alarms in the state legislature over conditions and abuses at the ICE immigration detention center on Fort Bliss in El Paso.Thirty-six Democrats sent a letter to State Rep. Cole Hefner, the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs, calling on the committee to hold an investigative hearing about the conditions at sprawling Camp East Montana.The signatories of the letter, who include Rep. Ana-Marí Rodríguez Ramos, who represents portions of Dallas, Garland and Richardson, Rep. James Talarico, who represents part of Austin and Pflugerville and Rep. Gene Wu, who represents southwestern Houston, among others, raise concerns from sworn affidavits of abuses at the detention center reported by the America Civil Liberties Union and the deaths of three migrants at the site."We, the undersigned members of the Texas Legislature, believe this public reporting, these sworn complaints, and allegations of crimes are sufficient to warrant an investigatory public hearing held by the standing committee you lead," the letter read. "Human rights abuses, ignoring due process requirements, repeated violations of federal regulations, clear disrespect for the United States Constitution, and murder are unconscionable on any inch of American soil — but these crimes against real people are happening in Texas, and require proud Texans to stand up in defense of our Constitution and use our power to end this widespread abuse."Rep. Hefner did not immediately respond for a request for comment about the Democrat's letter.Civil rights advocates and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, have repeatedly raised concerns about conditions in the center.The El Paso Times reported nearly 90 emergency 911 health calls coming from the center in the first 15 weeks of operation. Lucia Pedro Juan, the widow of Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, detailed to the El Paso Times the cruel, unsanitary and inhumane conditions she saw while detained at the site.Three detainees in custody at the center have died since December, including Cristóbal Andrés, who died in a hospital, and Lunas Campos, whose death was ruled a homicide. Another immigrant who died in the center, Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, was given an autopsy by military doctors at Fort Bliss, who do not publicly release autopsy reports.'We must not remain silent or complicit'El Paso State Reps. Joe Moody and Mary E. González were not among the signatories of the letter calling for a hearing to investigate the reports of human rights violations at Camp East Montana.But both condemned the detention centers in statements to the El Paso Times."Across the country, families are being separated under the guise of immigration enforcement policies that disregard our principles of democracy and due process," González, D-District 75, said. "Detention facilities are dehumanizing, as our neighbors are being detained and face unprecedented circumstances. No child should ever be subjected to such cruelty, and no community should be forced to shoulder the burden of sustaining it.""ICE’s behavior under this administration — from its masked men on our streets to the places where it’s warehousing human beings — is disgusting and lawless," Moody, D-District 78, said. "This isn’t how a free and fair country acts. Let me be clear: The concentration camp we already have here is brutalizing and literally killing people while it drains our local infrastructure. El Paso doesn’t want this one and certainly doesn’t want another one."González's district is the site of a planned mega-detention center on the border between Socorro and Clint, Texas. The City of Socorro took a step on Wednesday, Feb. 11, to block the new ICE site, which is poised to hold 8,500 people.Both González and Moody condemned the project."Our borderland cannot absorb the additional pressure these facilities impose," González said. "It is imperative that we reject the continuation of the inhumane detention practices and demand respect for our community. We must not remain silent or complicit. No public policy can justify the infliction of such harm, and no measure of enforcement should come at the expense of our humanity."U.S. Rep. Escobar blasts DHS and ICE for lack of transparencyU.S. Rep. Escobar has continued to raise concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana after her six oversight visits to the center since it opened in August 2025.Escobar once again voiced her frustration with the lack of transparency at Camp East Montana during her five minutes at the House Appropriations Committee oversight hearing on the potential impacts of a DHS shutdown on Wednesday, Feb, 11.The congresswoman raised concerns that the company responsible for managing the site, Acquisition Logistics, LLC, is not providing medicine and medical care, is serving frozen food, and not washing the clothing of detainees. The company was awarded $1.2 billion for the construction and management of the detention center in July 2025."This corporation needs to be investigated and Camp East Montana needs to be shut down," Escobar said.She also detailed how she is now being blocked from providing oversight at the site. She said she is no longer being allowed to speak with detainees unless she provides ample notice."DHS is absolutely out of control," Escobar said. "We can fund all of the other agencies, isolate what is happening at ICE and CBP. But colleagues, I am pleading with you for help. If the administration does not care about its humanitarian responsibilities, I am pleading with you to care about the fraud that is happening."Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.