US EditionTexas Medical Examiner Rules Cuban ICE Detainee Death a Homicide
The autopsy found asphyxia from neck and torso compression during restraint, contradicting ICE's suicide claim; at least three deaths occurred recently at Camp East Montana, officials said.
- On Jan. 3, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp East Montana a homicide caused by asphyxia from neck and torso compression.
- ICE's Jan. 9 statement said staff placed him in segregation after he became disruptive while waiting for medication, medical staff responded, summoned EMS, and paramedics pronounced him dead.
- Autopsy report and witnesses said Lunas Campos became unresponsive while physically restrained, with abrasions on his chest and knees and neck hemorrhages consistent with pressure during a struggle.
- The homicide ruling raises stakes as Rep. Veronica Escobar called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons to brief Congress and preserve evidence, while DHS and ICE investigate.
- The camp is a tent facility on Fort Bliss, operated under a $1.2 billion contract awarded to Acquisition Logistics LLC, with recent deaths highlighting broader concerns.
184 Articles
184 Articles
Family questions ICE suicide ruling in death of Nicaraguan man
The family of a Nicaraguan man who died at a federal immigration facility in Texas after being detained in Coon Rapids earlier this month say they doubt ICE’s initial conclusion that he committed suicide. ICE said that 36-year-old Victor Manuel Díaz died Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. It attributed his death to suicide, but said the official cause remains under investigation. “Contract security staff found Díaz unconscious and…
Cuban immigrant in ICE custody died of homicide due to asphyxia, autopsy finds
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the 55-year-old father of four was attempting suicide and the staff tried to save him. But a witness told The Associated Press last week that Lunas Campos was handcuffed as at least five guards held him down and one put an arm around his neck and squeezed until he was unconscious.
ICE Detainee Deaths Were at Record Highs in 2025. This Year Looks to Get Far Deadlier.
In 2025, at least 32 people died while in detainment by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That grim figure technically matches the record high number for detainee deaths that was set 21 years earlier in 2004, amid President George W. Bush’s own deportation push, but I can’t help but suspect that the true number is actually even higher. After all, I can immediately think of cases that aren’t included in that figure, such as…
Migrant death in ICE custody ruled homicide
What happenedThe medical examiner’s office in El Paso County, Texas, on Wednesday officially ruled the Jan. 3 death of a Cuban migrant being held in solitary confinement at ICE’s Camp East Montana a homicide. Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died of “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” after witnesses saw him “become unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement,” the coroner’s report said.Who said what The Department of Hom…
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