ICE Facility in Texas Faces Scrutiny Over Medical Neglect and Overcrowding
A comprehensive review of emergency calls and internal records has exposed alarming conditions at the nation's largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas. Camp East Montana, located on the sprawling Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, has been operating with what critics describe as "abject cruelty" since its opening last summer.
Disturbing Patterns Emerge from 911 Calls
According to records obtained by the Associated Press, staff at Camp East Montana made nearly one 911 call per day during the facility's first five months of operation. The data covering 130 emergency calls reveals a pattern of medical emergencies, self-harm incidents, and violent disturbances that have become routine at the detention center.
Current and former detainees describe a facility where approximately 3,000 people live in loud, unsanitary conditions while struggling to access basic healthcare. They report weight loss due to inadequate food provisions and fear security guards known to use force to suppress disturbances.
Medical Neglect and Self-Harm Incidents
The emergency calls document numerous serious incidents including:
- A man sobbing after being assaulted by another detainee
- A doctor reporting a detainee banging his head against a wall while expressing suicidal thoughts
- A nurse describing a pregnant woman in severe pain who tested positive for coronavirus
- At least 20 emergencies reported as seizures, some resulting in serious head trauma
- Six documented suicide attempts in addition to two confirmed deaths
Owen Ramsingh, a former property manager from Columbia, Missouri who spent several weeks in the camp before his deportation to the Netherlands, described the experience as profoundly traumatic. "Every day felt like a week. Every week felt like a month. Every month felt like a year," Ramsingh said. "Camp East Montana was 1,000% worse than a prison."
Fatal Incidents and Official Response
Two deaths have occurred at the facility under troubling circumstances. On January 3, ICE reported that security guards used handcuffs and force to restrain a 55-year-old Cuban man who attempted to harm himself. The medical examiner ruled Geraldo Lunas Campos's death a homicide caused by asphyxia.
Just eleven days later, staff reported that a 36-year-old Nicaraguan man took his own life days after being detained in Minnesota during an anti-immigration crackdown.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who declined to provide their name, rejected claims of substandard conditions, stating that detainees receive food, water, and medical treatment in a regularly cleaned facility. The spokesperson added that staff "closely monitors at-risk detainees" and provides mental health treatment.
Political Response and Facility Conditions
Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has toured the camp multiple times and has repeatedly demanded its closure. "This facility should not be operational. It feels like this contractor is reinventing the wheel, and people are losing their lives in their experiment," Escobar stated.
During her visits, Escobar witnessed firsthand the inadequate conditions. One female detainee showed her a serving of scrambled eggs that remained frozen in the middle. The congresswoman learned that detainees had protested after juice, fruit, and milk were removed from their meals.
Escobar also met with a detainee from Ecuador whose arm had been broken during a violent arrest by immigration agents in Minnesota. Weeks later, the fractured bones in his forearm remained visible under the skin.
Contractor Scrutiny and Federal Standards
The Washington Post reported in September that a required ICE inspection found conditions at Camp East Montana violated at least 60 federal standards for immigration detention, though this report has never been publicly released.
Congresswoman Escobar has called for an investigation into contractor Acquisition Logistics LLC, which was awarded a contract worth up to $1.3 billion to build and operate the facility. "People should be moved by the abject cruelty, but if they're not, I hope they're moved by the fraud and corruption," Escobar said.
The facility has temporarily reduced its population to less than 1,900 detainees and will be closed to visitors due to a measles outbreak, according to recent reports. The situation at Camp East Montana continues to draw attention to broader concerns about immigration detention practices and facility conditions across the United States.
