Four detainees at the Camp East Montana ICE detention facility on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, have filed a federal lawsuit alleging severe human rights abuses and unsafe conditions inside the center.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in West Texas, claims detainees are being subjected to physical violence by guards, medical neglect, poor sanitation, and overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions. It seeks class-action status on behalf of all current and future detainees at the facility.
Camp East Montana, described as a large tent-based detention complex in the Chihuahuan Desert, has been criticized by immigration advocates for months over its conditions. The complaint alleges issues such as lack of access to clean water, inadequate food, limited hygiene supplies, and exposure to disease outbreaks.
One plaintiff says he was severely beaten by guards and later placed in solitary confinement after requiring hospitalization. Another detainee described contaminated living conditions, dust-filled air, and long periods without clean clothing or basic necessities.
The lawsuit also alleges that detainees with serious medical conditions—including HIV, cancer, and diabetes—are not receiving timely treatment.
The Department of Homeland Security has strongly denied the allegations, calling them “categorically false” and stating that ICE detention facilities are subject to regular inspections and national standards that ensure adequate food, medical care, and living conditions.
Camp East Montana, which opened in 2025 and can hold up to 5,000 people, has already been the subject of prior scrutiny, including reports of deaths and documented violations of detention standards. Federal lawmakers have also conducted oversight visits, with some describing troubling conditions.
The case now moves forward as a broader legal challenge to conditions inside one of the country’s largest immigration detention centers.
