Congressman Gabe Vasquez visits Camp East Montana

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- New Mexico Congressman Gabe Vasquez conducted a Congressional Oversight visit to Camp East Montana, the largest detention facility in the country, Monday.

"This camp is in my community's backyard, and what happens here is incredibly relevant for my constituents in New Mexico's second district, as it is for every American in this country," said Vasquez.

Vasquez was in the facility for around two hours and was able to visit much of the facility, but he said he would be back to see the rest. He saw the pods that had detainees, the medical facilities, and the law library where he spoke with detainees about their experiences.

"The conditions that I saw inside the detention facility today, I believe, are beneath our American values," said Vasquez. "And speaking with nearly a dozen detainees inside the facility, it was clear to me that folks in this detention facility are scared of speaking out. They are scared of what might happen to them. They're scared of punishment from guards inside the facility."

Vasquez and his team sent in a list of questions to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security before the visit. Vasquez said many of them are still unanswered and he wants transparency from the administration.

"I'm here to get answers. I got almost no answers. Every question that I asked related to the specific data at this facility and I was not given those answers. It is a shame that as a member of Congress with direct oversight authority, they couldn't even give me the simple facts," said Vasquez. He was asking for specific data on the amount of detainees who have violent crimes on their record and was unable to get that information.

ABC-7 will have a live report on Vasquez' visit at 5, 6 and 10.