Detainees File Lawsuit Alleging Abuses at Texas ICE Facility

Four detainees at Camp East Montana, the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in the U.S., filed a federal class-action lawsuit early on Saturday alleging severe human rights abuses, “horrific” conditions, and “severe medical neglect” at the facility. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, accuses ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of constitutional and human rights violations at the sprawling tent camp located on Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas.

The lawsuit details a range of abuses including physical violence by guards, inadequate medical care, unsanitary living conditions, spoiled and insufficient food, sexual harassment, and the indiscriminate use of solitary confinement. Plaintiffs describe detainees being subjected to beatings, with one named plaintiff, Gerald Akari Angye, alleging he was beaten so severely he required hospitalization and was confined to a wheelchair. Angye, originally from Cameroon, stated, “I never thought I would experience such severely violent treatment by guards here in the United States of America. I have been beaten here and even today, I still have a brace on my hands and wrist. I am in pain and I am scared to be here.”

Another detainee, identified as Navdeep, reported dirty toilet water flowing into his sleeping area, difficulty accessing drinking water, breathing problems from excessive dust, and wearing the same clothes for three weeks. The complaint also highlights outbreaks of disease, including a measles outbreak that temporarily halted visitors in February 2026.

The lawsuit names DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, ICE Director Todd Lyons, the acting director of the ICE field office in El Paso, Marisa Flores, assistant field office director Angel Garite, the Pentagon, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as defendants. It alleges that the facility, which can hold up to 5,000 people but typically houses around 3,000, has seen at least three deaths, including one ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office. The complaint also criticizes ICE for gutting government watchdog agencies and preventing congressional visits.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis responded to NPR, calling the allegations “categorically false,” stating that ICE facilities comply with national detention standards and provide proper meals, medical treatment, and access to family and legal counsel. Bis added, “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, the national ACLU, Human Rights Watch, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and the law firm Farella Braun + Martel LLP. Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, described the facility as “a civil rights catastrophe.” Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said, “Camp East Montana has had far too many dangerous and deadly consequences,” emphasizing the need for justice for detainees subjected to “outrageous conditions, complete lack of medical care and stripped of their dignity without a second thought.”

The lawsuit underscores concerns about the rapid expansion of immigration detention facilities and the aggressive enforcement tactics employed by ICE, which have led to increased deaths and deteriorating conditions in detention centers nationwide.