A Cuban immigrant who had lived in the United States for nearly three decades died earlier this month inside a Texas immigration detention facility following an altercation with guards. The local medical examiner has indicated the death will likely be classified as a homicide, contradicting the official account from federal immigration authorities.
Conflicting Accounts of a Fatal Incident
Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died on 3 January at the Camp Montana East facility in El Paso. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initially stated the detainee had died during a suicide attempt, with staff attempting lifesaving measures. However, the Department of Homeland Security later amended its statement, saying Campos "violently resisted" staff and "continued to attempt to take his life" during a struggle where he stopped breathing.
This version is starkly contested by an eyewitness. Detainee Santos Jesús Flores told The Associated Press he saw guards handcuff Lunas Campos, tackle him, and place him in a chokehold until he lost consciousness. "The last thing he said was that he couldn’t breathe," Flores stated. The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office informed the family that a preliminary autopsy found the death was a homicide caused by asphyxia from chest and neck compression.
Scrutiny on a New and Controversial Facility
The death has intensified scrutiny of immigration detention conditions, particularly at Camp Montana East. The sprawling tent facility was hastily built on the Fort Bliss Army base at a cost of $1.2 billion and is operated by a private contractor, Acquisition Logistics LLC, which had no prior experience running a corrections facility. It was unclear if the guards involved were government employees or contractor staff.
Lunas Campos was among the first detainees sent to the camp in September. He was arrested in Rochester, New York, where he had lived for over 20 years after being legally admitted to the US in 1996. ICE stated his arrest was due to criminal convictions making him eligible for removal. New York records show he was a registered sex offender from a 2003 conviction and had served a prison sentence for a drug offence, completed in 2017.
A Family's Quest for Justice and Answers
Jeanette Pagan-Lopez, the mother of Lunas Campos's two youngest children, is struggling to get answers and have his body returned to Rochester. She said ICE officials offered free return only if she consented to cremation, which she declined. After failing to get details from ICE, she was contacted by the eyewitness detainee.
"He wasn’t a bad guy," Pagan-Lopez said, describing him as an attentive father who worked a minimum-wage job. "I just want justice, and his body here. That’s all I want." She reported that calls to the FBI yielded no investigation.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Victor Weedn explained that a preliminary homicide ruling indicates the guards' actions caused the death, but not necessarily an intent to kill. Such a finding is critical for potential criminal or civil liability. The death occurred on an Army base, which may complicate jurisdictional investigations by local authorities.
The case echoes longstanding concerns over deaths in custody involving prone restraint and neck compression. A 2024 AP investigation documented hundreds of similar deaths in police encounters, often preceded by the words "I can't breathe." DHS stated the case remains under active investigation.
