US EditionAfter a Death at an El Paso ICE Facility Was Ruled a Homicide, Will Prosecutors Pursue a Criminal Case?
The medical examiner found asphyxia caused by neck and torso compression during restraint, marking the third death at Camp East Montana, which holds nearly 3,000 detainees.
- On Jan. 3, Lt. Paul Walden called 911 while staff tried to revive Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp East Montana, describing a hanging attempt, handcuffing, and a struggle where Campos stopped breathing.
- Agency records show Geraldo Lunas Campos had bipolar disorder and anxiety and was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last July.
- Autopsy findings and witness accounts indicate injuries consistent with guards holding Lunas Campos down and applying pressure to his neck and back, with the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office ruling the death a homicide by asphyxia due to compression to the neck and torso.
- Records released Friday indicate a call seeking an outside investigation was transferred and not taken up by local agencies, and it remains unclear whether any law enforcement outside ICE is investigating.
- Camp East Montana, built last year at Fort Bliss, uses private contractors; Lt. Paul Walden joined Akima Global Services near the camp's opening, and ICE initially omitted the suicide attempt and restraint.
229 Articles
229 Articles
After a death at an El Paso ICE facility was ruled a homicide, will prosecutors pursue a criminal case?
By Colleen DeGuzman, The Texas Tribune January 29, 2026 More than a week after an migrant’s death at an El Paso immigration detention center was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, it’s unclear whether that autopsy will lead to criminal charges or prosecution. Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban, died earlier this month at Camp East Montana, a massive tent facility at the Fort Bliss Army base that immigrant rights organizations have co…
More than a week after the death of a migrant in an immigration detention center in El Paso was ruled murder by a forensic doctor, it is unclear whether that autopsy will lead to criminal charges or a trial. Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban, died earlier this month in Camp East Montana, a massive tent facility at Army Fort Bliss base that immigrant rights organizations have condemned for having “inhuman conditions.”
A Cuban immigrant in a Texas detention center tried to hang himself, was immobilized by handcuffed guards and stopped breathing during a later struggle, according to a 911 call from a private security contractor. A person who identified himself as Lieutenant Paul Walden asked for emergency help while medical personnel were trying to revive Geraldo Lunas Campos on January 3 at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. A county forensic doctor earlier …
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