Lawsuit Alleges Human Rights Violations at Largest U.S. Immigration Detention Center

Civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Watch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project, have filed a lawsuit alleging severe human rights abuses at Camp East Montana, the largest immigration detention center in the United States. Located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas, the facility was established as part of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation strategy and currently houses more than 2,700 detainees. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, names U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) among the defendants.

According to the complaint, detainees at the facility are subjected to inhumane conditions, including physical abuse by guards, inadequate medical and mental healthcare, excessive use of solitary confinement, and exposure to infectious diseases such as measles and tuberculosis. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four current detainees, including Venezuelan immigrant Erik Ivan Rodriguez and Cameroonian national Gerald Akari Angye, who allege they were physically assaulted by officials. The legal action follows a congressional inspection conducted in February that identified 49 violations of detention standards, including concerns related to use of force and medical care.

DHS has strongly denied the allegations, describing claims of abuse and neglect as “categorically false.” The department maintains that detainees receive appropriate medical treatment and that no measles cases have been reported at the facility since March. However, scrutiny has intensified following the deaths of three detainees within the camp during its first nine months of operation, as well as the death of a fourth individual shortly after release. One of the deaths, involving Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, was ruled a homicide by El Paso medical examiners. The lawsuit seeks court intervention to improve living conditions and ensure the protection of detainees’ rights amid growing concerns over rising deaths in U.S. immigration custody.

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