Second man dies at Texas ICE detention facility in two weeks

"Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, originally from Nicaragua, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his room on 14 January at the Camp East Montana detention facility in El Paso, ICE said in a press release. They immediately notified contract medical staff on site to conduct life saving measures, it said, adding that emergency medical technicians arrived to the facility but could not revive Diaz, who was pronounced dead just after 4pm."

"Diaz was detained on 6 January during the Trump administration's controversial deportation blitz in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He initially entered the US through the Mexican border in March of 2024, when border patrol agents picked him up and he was given a court date with an immigration judge, then released on parole. On 26 August of last year an immigration judge ordered Diaz's removal in absentia. ICE detained him on 12 January in order to deport him."

"Another man, Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, who immigrated to the US from Cuba, died in the same detention camp on 3 January. ICE said Campos was experiencing medical distress and that staff provided emergency treatment in the hopes of saving him. His death is potentially being investigated as a homicide. The local medical examiner determined the preliminary cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and chest compression, according to reports."

Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, from Nicaragua, was found unconscious in his room on 14 January at Camp East Montana in El Paso. Medical staff and emergency technicians attempted resuscitation but pronounced him dead after 4pm. ICE described the death as a presumed suicide while the official cause remains under investigation. Diaz was detained on 6 January during a deportation operation after entering the US in March 2024 and being released on parole; an immigration judge ordered his removal in absentia on 26 August and ICE detained him on 12 January to deport him. The tent facility is on Fort Bliss. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year and at least five have died this year. Another detainee, Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died on 3 January; a preliminary medical examiner finding reported asphyxia due to neck and chest compression and the death may be investigated as a homicide.

Read at www.theguardian.com