A coalition of immigrant rights organizations, legal groups, and religious entities from Texas and New Mexico demanded the immediate closure of the Camp East Montana detention center, located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, following the deaths of three immigrants in ICE custody at that center so far this year. year.

Identified as Victor Manuel Diaz, of Nicaraguan origin. This is the third such death at the same detention center in just 44 days, highlighting the lethal pattern of abuse, neglect, and impunity that has characterized the facility since its opening, according to the coalition. The death of Victor Manuel Diaz comes amid national outrage following the release of an investigation that confirmed Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old father detained at Camp East Montana, died of asphyxiation after being strangled by guards. Federal authorities subsequently threatened to deport key witnesses to the incident, raising serious concerns about accountability and efforts to cover up evidence of abuse at the center. Camp East Montana was rushed into operation in August 2025, despite explicit warnings from members of Congress and human rights advocates that the facility would cause serious harm and loss of life. The camp is built on land historically used to detain people of Japanese descent during World War II and now houses more than 2,700 people, making it the largest immigration detention center in the country. The case comes amid growing national outrage following news reports confirming that Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant detained at the same center, died of asphyxiation after guards allegedly restrained him by pressing on his neck.The organizations also denounced that federal authorities are threatening to deport key witnesses to the incident, raising serious concerns about possible attempts to cover up responsibility. Therefore, they urged the Trump administration to immediately reverse course and demanded that Congress act to end this cycle of abuse and impunity. Camp East Montana must be closed without delay, and a thorough and independent investigation of all detention centers must be launched immediately. Inaction will continue to cost lives. Below are quotes from representatives of various organizations:

“Camp East Montana was built to make people disappear, strip them of their rights, and keep them out of public view here in our border community. This is the third death at this facility, and each one demonstrates the lethal cost of using detention as the default response to migration,” said Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of the Immigrant Defense Center of the Americas.

“No one should die for seeking safety, dignity, or a future for their family. Camp East Montana is killing people and must be shut down immediately. We are outraged and heartbroken by the death of a third migrant at Camp East Montana. The three people who have died since August while in detention were preventable deaths and reflect the dangerous and inhumane conditions that migrants are forced to endure,” she asserted.

Camp East Montana

The coalition called on the President's administration to Donald Trump immediately reversed the use of the facility and demanded that Congress launch an independent investigation into the conditions at all immigration detention centers.

“Camp East Montana was built to make people disappear, strip them of their rights, and store human beings out of public view,” said Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

“This is the third death at this location, and each one demonstrates the lethal cost of using detention as the primary response to migration,” the statement quoted.

For its part, the organization Estrella del Paso demands immediate accountability and transparency to ensure an immediate end to human rights violations and deaths at Camp East Montana.

“Fort Bliss has a long and painful history of being used to commit human rights atrocities: Japanese internment camps, the detention of unaccompanied minors, and now, immigrants.The government cannot continue to act with impunity and reckless indifference while people suffer and die behind bars. Every day that Camp East Montana remains open, thousands of parents, children, and people fleeing violence and poverty risk losing their lives in their quest for survival.” “We mourn the lives lost and stand in solidarity with their loved ones. Migrants are not disposable. They are human beings who deserve care, dignity, and protection. Camp East Montana must be closed immediately. Anything else is a moral failure!” declared Melissa M. Lopez, Executive Director of Estrella del Paso.

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