A Texas contractor involved in constructing a new large-scale migrant detention facility near Fort Bliss previously co-owned a company that pleaded guilty to hiring undocumented workers, according to a report from ProPublica—raising fresh concerns about how federal contracts are awarded and vetted.
The Department of Defense recently announced plans to build what could become the nation’s largest immigration detention site, with space for up to 5,000 detainees. The $1.2 billion project includes work by Disaster Management Group, a firm led by Republican donor Nathan Albers.
Albers formerly held a leadership position at TentLogix, a company that in 2019 admitted to knowingly employing undocumented migrants and attempting to hide them from immigration authorities. While Albers himself was not charged, court documents confirm he signed off on the company’s guilty plea. TentLogix was fined over $3 million and later filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Since then, Albers has expanded Disaster Management into a key federal contractor, landing more than $500 million in recent contracts for temporary housing and emergency construction, including projects for migrant and refugee facilities. The company has also faced labor issues of its own—paying nearly $16 million in back wages after a Department of Labor investigation in 2023 revealed widespread violations.
The Fort Bliss detention center will be managed by Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics, with Disaster Management Group and Amentum listed as subcontractors. Despite Albers’ controversial past, neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security has addressed questions regarding his firm’s involvement in the project.
A spokesperson for Disaster Management defended Albers, stating he was merely a minority, non-operating partner at TentLogix during the time of the violations and was cleared of wrongdoing in the federal investigation.
Still, government watchdogs warn the contracting system often fails to catch or flag such backgrounds. “I doubt this would even show up on a contracting officer’s radar,” said Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project On Government Oversight. “The vetting process for subcontractors is incredibly limited.”
Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly canceled a separate $3.8 billion detention facility contract without explanation. The new Fort Bliss center is now seen as a key component of the Biden administration’s strategy to ramp up detentions and deportations.
