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Detainees sue ICE over abuse, disease, and deaths at Fort Bliss tent camp

May 31, 2026 · El Paso, TX, Cuba

Detainees sue ICE over abuse, disease, and deaths at Fort Bliss tent camp

The ACLU, civil rights organizations, and individual detainees filed a federal lawsuit against ICE and DHS challenging conditions at Camp East Montana, the largest immigration detention center in the U.S., located at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The complaint alleges physical abuse by guards, inadequate medical care, solitary confinement, disease exposure including a measles outbreak, and nearly 50 violations of detention standards. At least three detainees have died since the facility opened nine months prior, including a Cuban immigrant ruled to have died from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. Named plaintiffs Navdeep, a former mail handler, and ZOR, a father detained over eight months, detailed specific conditions including contaminated water, inadequate drinking water access, breathing problems from desert dust, lack of medical care, and family separation.

Timeline

May 31, 2026Detainees Navdeep and ZOR join class action lawsuit alleging unsanitary conditions, medical neglect, water contamination, and family separation
May 31, 2026ACLU and civil rights groups file complaint documenting three detainee deaths, physical abuse by guards, inadequate medical care, and disease exposure
May 30, 2026Civil rights organizations file federal lawsuit against ICE documenting conditions violations, deaths, measles outbreak, and abuse
Sep 2025Camp East Montana opens at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas

Sources

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