Summary
Civil rights organizations have taken legal action over conditions at Camp East Montana, a large tent encampment on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas, that was established under President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation strategy. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, names the camp operator U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as defendants. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four people currently detained at the site and seeks improved conditions for more than 2,700 detainees.
Details of the lawsuit
The American Civil Liberties Union brought the action together with Human Rights Watch and the Texas Civil Rights Project. The ACLU said the suit is intended to prevent further mistreatment and to secure humane conditions for those held at the facility. "We’re suing to ensure that no other human being has to endure the inhumane treatment," said Kyle Virgien, an attorney for the National Prison Project of the ACLU, which led the filing.
The complaint alleges a pattern of abuses and substandard care. According to the ACLU, detainees are confined in windowless enclosures and experience physical abuse by guards, inadequate medical and mental health care, indiscriminate use of solitary confinement and exposure to communicable diseases such as measles and tuberculosis.
Inspection findings and agency response
A congressionally mandated inspection of the camp’s temporary structures in February found 49 violations of detention standards. Inspectors recorded 11 violations related to "use of force and restraints" and five related to "medical care." The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The agency has previously stated that the $1.2 billion facility meets federal standards for immigrant detention.
Allegations from named plaintiffs
The lawsuit identifies four current detainees as plaintiffs and includes specific allegations of mistreatment. Venezuelan immigrant Erik Ivan Rodriguez, a named plaintiff, said he experienced physical violence as officials attempted to coerce him into signing deportation paperwork. Another plaintiff, Gerald Akari Angye of Cameroon, said he was beaten by guards.
Deaths connected to the facility
The suit comes amid reports of multiple deaths tied to the facility. The ACLU noted that three people have died in the nine months since the camp opened. In January, the death of a Cuban immigrant at Camp East Montana was ruled a homicide by El Paso medical examiners, who cited "asphyxia due to neck and torso compression." Immigration officials initially described the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos as resulting from "medical distress." Authorities later said he attempted to take his own life and died during a struggle with guards who tried to save him. The ACLU's complaint alleges he was beaten to death after asking for his asthma medication.
The lawsuit also says a fourth man died shortly after being released from the camp; the complaint alleges he had been denied chemotherapy for cancer while detained.
Context on detention trends
The filing points to a broader rise in detention deaths, noting that U.S. immigration detention deaths reached a 20-year high in 2025 as the administration increased the number of people held for alleged immigration violations.
What the lawsuit seeks
The plaintiffs ask the court to address the alleged abuses and to order changes to conditions at Camp East Montana so that the facility complies with detention standards and detainees receive adequate medical and mental healthcare, protection from undue force and from infectious disease exposure. The legal action is the first lawsuit to target the desert facility on the Fort Bliss base and aims to secure relief for the detainee population of more than 2,700 people.
Key points
- Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four detainees, naming ICE and DHS and targeting conditions at Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss.
- A congressionally mandated February inspection recorded 49 violations of detention standards, including multiple findings related to use of force and medical care.
- Reports connected to the facility include at least three deaths within nine months of opening and a fourth death shortly after release; one death was ruled a homicide by local medical examiners.
Risks and uncertainties
- Legal risk to DHS and ICE from the federal lawsuit and potential court-ordered remedies that could require operational or policy changes at detention facilities - this affects government agency operations and legal expenditures.
- Health risks for detainees from alleged inadequate medical care and exposure to diseases such as measles and tuberculosis, which could impact public health oversight and detention healthcare provisioning.
- Reputational and operational uncertainty for the agencies managing the camp amid inspection findings and reported deaths, potentially influencing oversight, funding and policy decisions.
Who brought the case
The ACLU's National Prison Project filed the complaint together with Human Rights Watch and the Texas Civil Rights Project. The suit was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas and seeks to improve conditions for detainees held at the site.