Lawsuit alleges inhumane conditions at ICE’s Camp East Montana detention facility
Consensus Summary
A class-action lawsuit was filed in May 2026 against ICE and DHS alleging severe human rights abuses at Camp East Montana, the largest US immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas. The facility, opened in August 2025 under President Trump’s policies, holds around 2,500–2,700 detainees in squalid conditions, with three deaths reported in nine months, including a homicide ruled by El Paso medical examiners. Plaintiffs describe physical abuse by guards, denial of medical care (such as chemotherapy for cancer), unsanitary living conditions, and indiscriminate solitary confinement. A congressional inspection in February 2026 found 49 violations, including 11 related to use of force. DHS denies the allegations, though both sources confirm the lawsuit’s claims of systemic failures. The case, backed by ACLU and Human Rights Watch, seeks accountability for what attorneys call a 'civil rights catastrophe,' with detainees reporting mental breakdowns and punitive conditions designed to intimidate immigrants.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- A lawsuit was filed against ICE and DHS over alleged human rights abuses at Camp East Montana, the largest US immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas.
- The lawsuit names four detainees as plaintiffs: Gerald Akari Angye (Cameroon), Erik Ivan Rodriguez (Venezuela), Navdeep (name withheld), and ZOR (pseudonym).
- Three deaths have occurred at Camp East Montana in nine months (as of May 2026), including the January 2026 death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban immigrant, ruled a homicide by El Paso medical examiners due to 'asphyxia from neck and torso compression'.
- The facility, located on Fort Bliss military base, opened in August 2025 and currently holds around 2,500–2,700 detainees, with a capacity of 5,000.
- Allegations include physical abuse by guards, poor medical care (including denial of chemotherapy for cancer), unsanitary conditions, and indiscriminate use of solitary confinement.
- A congressional inspection in February 2026 found 49 violations at the camp, including 11 related to 'use of force and restraints' and 5 related to 'medical care'.
- The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Human Rights Watch, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Farella Braun + Martel LLP in federal court in El Paso.
- Defendants include DHS, ICE, Pentagon, and officials such as ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and El Paso Field Office Director Marisa Flores.
- Plaintiff Gerald Akari Angye reported being beaten by guards, hospitalized, and placed in solitary confinement after insisting on speaking to a lawyer before signing documents.
- The facility was established under President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation strategy and is described as a 'civil rights catastrophe' by ACLU attorneys.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The lawsuit is the first against Camp East Montana following the three deaths in nine months.
- A DHS spokesperson categorically denied claims of inhumane conditions, stating no detainees were beaten, abused, or denied medical care, and no measles cases were reported as of March 12, 2026.
- US immigration detention deaths reached a 20-year high in 2025 under Trump’s administration.
- Protesters opposing mass deportations by ICE at Fort Bliss were referenced in August 2025 (image credit: Reuters).
- The fourth man died shortly after release from the camp due to denied chemotherapy for cancer.
- The lawsuit alleges guards sexually touch detainees without consent during pat-down searches.
- Detainees report mental deterioration, feeling 'not human,' and contemplating suicide due to lack of psychological support.
- Only 20% of detainees had a criminal background, with conditions described as 'punitive by design' to intimidate immigrants.
- The lawsuit cites a 'smell of urine, feces, and body odor' in tents due to filthy, cramped conditions.
- Sand and dust from the desert enter tents through ventilation gaps, causing respiratory issues.
- DHS previously denied allegations of poor food quality, medical care, and lawyer access as 'unequivocally false'.
- The lawsuit references a broader ICE strategy of expanding detention facilities while weakening oversight.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC states DHS claimed 'no detainees were being beaten, abused, or denied medical care,' while the Guardian reports DHS previously called all such accusations 'unequivocally false' without direct denial of beatings.
- ABC reports the camp had 'no measles cases as of March 12, 2026,' but the Guardian does not dispute this claim, though it emphasizes exposure to diseases like measles and tuberculosis in the lawsuit’s allegations.
- ABC attributes Geraldo Lunas Campos’s death initially to 'medical distress' before ICE claimed he 'tried to take his life,' while the Guardian omits this detail and focuses on the medical examiner’s homicide ruling.
- ABC mentions a 'congressionally mandated inspection' in February 2026 found 49 violations, but the Guardian does not specify the source of the inspection’s mandate, only that violations were documented.
Source Articles
Inhumane conditions at ICE detention camp, lawsuit says
Civil rights groups allege people at the largest immigration detention centre in Texas are being beaten, abused and denied medical care at the camp.
Suit filed against ICE over ‘dire’ conditions at largest US immigration detention facility
In first suit over conditions at Texas’s Camp East Montana, plaintiffs allege ‘dangerous and abusive’ environment with ‘abhorrent’ medical care The first lawsuit relating to the largest immigration detention facility in the US was filed early on Saturday against Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ), accusing the agency of “dire” conditions that severely violate the human and constitutional rights of those locked up at the camp in Texas . A clutch of legal organizations is suing via a clas