{"id":220732,"date":"2026-01-16T13:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=220732"},"modified":"2026-01-16T13:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:46:16","slug":"aclu-renews-calls-for-closure-of-camp-east-montana-following-reports-that-detained-immigrant-was-choked-to-death-by-ice-officer","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-renews-calls-for-closure-of-camp-east-montana-following-reports-that-detained-immigrant-was-choked-to-death-by-ice-officer","title":{"rendered":"ACLU Renews Calls for Closure of Camp East Montana Following Reports that Detained Immigrant Was Choked to Death by ICE Officer"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-220732","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"Report highlights need for oversight at immigration detention centers, as deaths in ICE detention hit highest number in two decades ","date_and_time":"2026-01-16 13:45:00","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"EL PASO, Texas <\/b>\u2013 A harrowing Washington Post report<\/a> released Thursday found that the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old father detained at an immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX, will likely be ruled a homicide due to asphyxiation after a witness at the facility claims they saw guards choke him to death. The report comes weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that Lunas Campos died at the facility after alleging staff \u201cwitnessed him in distress.\u201d \r\n\r\n\u201cThe death of Geraldo Lunas Campos is the latest in a string of preventable deaths by ICE and illustrates a broader pattern of unchecked violence and abuse carried out by ICE against members of our communities on the taxpayer\u2019s dime,\u201d said Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. <\/b>\u201cThe record breaking 32 deaths in ICE custody last year marked the deadliest year for the agency in nearly two decades. These deaths in detention facilities, coupled with the continued escalation of violence by federal agents in our streets, paint a grim picture of what happens when a government agency has an astronomical budget and no accountability. We cannot allow these deaths to become daily occurrences or this violence to continue to be inflicted \u2013 and we need Congress to shut down the Fort Bliss detention camp once and for all.\u201d \r\n\r\nIn December 2025, the ACLU and human rights groups sent a letter<\/a> to ICE demanding end immigration detention at Camp East Montana, a massive tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base. Within their letter, advocates described a disturbing pattern of abuses, including beatings and sexual abuse by officers against detained immigrants, beatings and coercive threats to compel deportation to third countries, medical neglect, hunger and insufficient food, and denial of meaningful access to counsel, among other rights violations. \r\n\r\nThe Trump administration hastily opened the sprawling tent camp in August 2025, despite warnings<\/a> from members of Congress and advocates that the facility would be a humanitarian disaster. The facility is located on the military base formerly used to intern people of Japanese descent during World War II and currently holds over 2,700 people, making it the country\u2019s largest immigration detention center. 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