Legal Groups Sue ICE Over 3 Deaths at 5,000-Bed Camp East Montana
Updated
Updated · escobar.house.gov · Jul 13
Legal Groups Sue ICE Over 3 Deaths at 5,000-Bed Camp East Montana
3 articles · Updated · escobar.house.gov · Jul 13
Summary
A May 29 lawsuit by the ACLU, Texas Civil Rights Project and other groups accuses ICE of running Camp East Montana under inhumane conditions, with plaintiffs describing the site as the worst period of their lives.
The complaint follows accounts of toilets failing, sporadic water, broken legal-call tablets, delayed medical care and pressure on detainees to accept deportation; a former ICE official said the aim was to make detention "look and feel so bad that people leave."
Camp East Montana, a tent complex at Fort Bliss built to hold up to 5,000 people, saw at least three deaths between Dec. 3, 2025, and Jan. 14, 2026, including one case the county medical examiner planned to classify as homicide.
The facility was rushed into service in August 2025 under a contract worth more than $1 billion, and later inspections found ICE had not properly vetted conditions before sending detainees there.
The suit lands as ICE detention has expanded nationwide to more than 60,000 people from 39,000 in January 2025, with Camp East Montana portrayed by advocates as a model for a broader warehouse-based detention buildup.
How does the mass detention policy impact the well-being of an estimated 145,000 U.S. citizen children left behind?
With detention mortality at a 20-year high, what independent oversight can prevent more deaths inside these government facilities?
After a contractor’s fatal mismanagement, what accountability measures are being implemented to reform the government’s private contracting process?
Deaths, Disease, and Dysfunction: The Ongoing Crisis at Camp East Montana ICE Detention Center
Overview
Camp East Montana highlights the deep problems in U.S. immigration detention, where civil rights groups often sue ICE over poor conditions. The facility faces serious allegations, including abuse by guards and multiple detainee deaths, some ruled as homicides. These issues reveal systemic failures in oversight and protection, with inspections often failing to catch real problems. Even when facilities pass inspections, detainee safety is not guaranteed. Each death leads to investigations, like the ongoing case of Geraldo Lunas Campos, showing how weak enforcement and oversight allow dangerous conditions to persist and drive calls for reform and accountability.