Three migrants died at Camp East Montana detention facility amid safety violations
Jun 10, 2026·Location: El Paso, TX
Country of origin: Cuba

Camp East Montana, an ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, opened in August 2025 under a $1.3 billion Army contract and operates with 3,000 to 5,000 civil detainees, 80% of whom have no criminal record. Three migrant detainees died at the facility between December 2025 and February 2026, including Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose death was ruled a homicide by the local medical examiner. A federal inspection in February 2026 found 49 violations of national detention standards, including deficiencies in use of force and restraints, security, medical care, and inadequate documentation of suicide prevention checks. The facility operates in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions with documented failures including missing security cameras, no outdoor recreation areas, inadequate medical care for chronic conditions, and disease outbreaks including measles and tuberculosis. Research cited in reporting shows 95% of ICE deaths between 2017-2021 were preventable.
Timeline
Sources
- Life inside California ICE camps revealed in new report
Newsweek·May 19, 2026·archived copy
- ICE detention deaths are on a record pace. One Texas facility bears the brunt
NPR·Apr 3, 2026·archived copy
- El Paso Times
- Escobar leads Dems' call for ICE to close El Paso camp
Texas Tribune·Feb 26, 2026·archived copy
- Vasquez blasts Fort Bliss ICE detention camp conditions as ‘beneath our values’
abqjournal.com·Apr 7, 2026·archived copy
- Attempted suicides, fights, pain: 911 calls reveal misery at ICE’s largest detention facility
independent.co.uk·Mar 6, 2026·archived copy
- Opinion: We visited an El Paso ICE detention facility. We don’t recognize our country anymore
elpasomatters.org·Feb 24, 2026·archived copy
- Verifying Device
- Nation's largest ICE detention facility 'wasted' millions after rushed opening, federal report says
- ‘Millions of dollars in waste': Federal report shows failures at ICE Camp East Montana
elpasomatters.org·Jun 9, 2026·archived copy
- Inspection at Largest U.S. Immigration Detention Facility Finds Nearly 50 Detention Standard Violations
latintimes.com·Apr 7, 2026·archived copy
- ICE inspection finds dozens of detention standard violations at Camp East Montana
elpasomatters.org·Apr 2, 2026·archived copy
- Inspection finds dozens of violations of detention standards at a major immigration camp in Texas
Houston Chronicle·Apr 2, 2026·archived copy
- ICE inspectors finds 49 standards violations at Camp East Montana
bluewaterhealthyliving.com·Apr 3, 2026·archived copy
- aclutx.org
- Inside Trump’s ICE Facilities: Overcrowding, Neglect And A System Critics Call Despicable
blackenterprise.com·Mar 31, 2026·archived copy
- ICE sued over “inhumane” conditions at Camp East Montana
Texas Tribune·May 30, 2026·archived copy
- Beyond the Official ICE Detention Death Count
austinkocher.substack.com·Apr 2, 2026·archived copy
- Democrats pay visit to ICE detention facility where abuse claims are rife
guardian.co.uk·Apr 3, 2026·archived copy
- CourtListener
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- ICE agent shoots Venezuelan DoorDash driver in back, leaves him partially paralyzedOct 4, 2026 · Austin, TX
- Bodycam footage contradicts ICE account of US citizen's fatal shooting in TexasOct 4, 2026 · South Padre Island, TX
- Hundreds march in San Antonio as officials weigh lawsuit against ICE detention facilityOct 3, 2026 · San Antonio, TX
- Judge expands border wall halt across Big Bend region of TexasOct 2, 2026 · El Paso, TX