Immigrant detainees sue over 'horrific' conditions at Texas ICE facility - BERITAJA

A motion marks the entranceway to a bid of hardened tents astatine the Camp East Montana migrant detention halfway successful the godforsaken astatine a U.S. Army guidelines connected the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, Feb. 13, 2026. Morgan Lee/AP

Morgan Lee/AP

Four detainees astatine the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention halfway successful the U.S. revenge a national suit connected Saturday alleging quality authorities abuses, "horrific" conditions and "severe aesculapian neglect" astatine the facility.

The complaint, revenge successful the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, specifications "inhumane" curen wrong Camp East Montana connected the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss subject guidelines successful El Paso, Texas. The suit describes a litany of maltreatment allegations, including a deficiency of aesculapian attraction and beingness unit astatine the hands of guards, and accuses the authorities of quality authorities and law violations.

"Detained group are regularly subjected to terrible beatings aliases intersexual harassment by guards; squalid surviving conditions; spoiled and inadequate food; nary meaningful programming aliases recreation; inadequate entree to basal hygiene products specified arsenic soap, razors aliases nail clippers, outbreaks of disease; and constricted aliases nary entree to sunlight," according to the complaint.

It's the first suit against the facility. Immigration advocates and erstwhile detainees person been calling for the monolithic installation to beryllium unopen down for months.

The plaintiffs revenge the suit connected behalf of themselves, each detainees of the installation and early group held there. They're seeking class-action position for the ineligible challenge.

According to the complaint, the center's guards hit Gerald Akari Angye, 1 of the named plaintiffs, truthful severely he had to beryllium hospitalized and placed successful a wheelchair. Angye, who has been astatine Camp East Montana for conscionable complete a month, claims he was past locked successful solitary confinement for 15 days.

"No quality being should ever person to spell done this," Angye said successful a connection released by the American Civil Liberties Union, 1 of the organizations representing the detainees. "I person already knowledgeable torture successful my location state of Cameroon and I ne'er thought I would acquisition specified severely convulsive curen by guards present successful the United States of America."

Another detainee identified successful the title only arsenic Navdeep, a erstwhile message handler pinch nary criminal history, says he knowledgeable soiled toilet h2o flowing into his sleeping area, trouble accessing cups for drinking h2o and breathing problems because of excessive particulate from the desert. Navdeep wore the aforesaid clothes, including underwear, for 3 weeks, according to the lawsuit.

"We could dice here, and it feels for illustration nary 1 present would care," Navdeep said successful the ACLU statement.

People being held astatine Camp East Montana don't person timely medications to negociate a scope of superior aesculapian issues specified arsenic HIV, crab and diabetes, according to the lawsuit. In February, the detention halfway was closed temporarily to visitors because of a measles outbreak, according to Marfa Public Radio. The title besides describes lodging units without windows, crammed spaces and a changeless odor of urine and feces, a deficiency of cleanable h2o and reports that detainees person only 2 pieces of bread, a portion of ham aliases bologna, a portion of food and a cooky for each 3 meals.

ICE Director Todd Lyons and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin are named arsenic defendants successful the lawsuit. In an email to BERITAJA, a DHS spokesperson who would not springiness their name, rebutted the claims successful the suit saying they are "categorically false."

"ICE is regularly audited and inspected by outer agencies to guarantee that each ICE accommodation comply pinch performance-based nationalist detention standards. All detainees are provided pinch due meals, value water, blankets, aesculapian treatment, and person opportunities to pass pinch their family members and lawyers. ICE has higher detention standards than about U.S. prisons that clasp existent U.S. citizens."

Camp East Montana is simply a sprawling encampment of tents successful the Chihuahuan Desert opened successful 2025. It has the capacity to clasp up to 5,000 group but usually houses about 3,000.

At slightest 3 group person died astatine the center, including Cuban nationalist Gerald Lunas Campos, according to erstwhile BERITAJA reporting. The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Campos' decease a homicide and nary 1 has been charged. In February, ICE recovered 49 violations to detention standards astatine center, including inadequate aesculapian attraction and nonaccomplishment from unit to "accurately archive required checks to forestall important self-harm and suicide." DHS has disputed those claims.

Several members of Congress person conducted unannounced oversight visits to the detention center. Minnesota Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, a Democrat, visited successful March aft ICE detained thousands of group from her state and flew them to the encampment during the national crackdown targeting Minneapolis. Morrison said she was horrified by the cruelty she witnessed.