ICE says Cuban immigrant died while attempting suicide. A witness says guards pinned and choked him

Immigration Death in Texas Detention Facility Ruled Homicide, Contradicting Federal Account

A Cuban immigrant died during an altercation with guards at a Texas immigration detention facility on January 3, with the local medical examiner indicating the death will likely be classified as a homicide. This finding directly conflicts with federal officials’ initial explanation of the events.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility built on Fort Bliss, an Army base near El Paso. According to a witness who spoke with the Associated Press, Lunas Campos died after being handcuffed, tackled by guards and placed in a chokehold until he lost consciousness.

The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office told the immigrant’s family on Wednesday that a preliminary autopsy report classified the death as a homicide resulting from asphyxia due to chest and neck compression. This account starkly contradicts the Department of Homeland Security’s version of events.

In its initial January 9 public notification about the death, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made no mention of any physical altercation with staff. The agency later amended its explanation, with DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stating that Lunas Campos had attempted suicide and “violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life.”

Santos Jesús Flores, a 47-year-old detainee from El Salvador, witnessed the incident through the window of his cell in the facility’s special housing unit. He told the AP that Lunas Campos was already handcuffed when at least five guards pinned him to the floor, with at least one guard applying pressure around the detainee’s neck.

“The last thing he said was that he couldn’t breathe,” Flores recounted. “After he stopped breathing, they removed the handcuffs.”

The incident has intensified scrutiny of conditions in immigration detention facilities at a time of increased enforcement operations nationwide. Camp Montana East opened in 2023 as part of a $1.2 billion detention complex operated by a private contractor, Acquisition Logistics LLC, that had no prior experience running correctional facilities.

Lunas Campos arrived at Camp Montana East in September after being arrested in Rochester, New York, where he had lived for more than two decades. He had been legally admitted to the United States in 1996 as part of a wave of Cuban immigrants. ICE detained him due to past criminal convictions, including a 2003 sexual contact offense involving a minor and a 2009 attempted drug sale conviction.

His daughter, Kary Lunas, 25, defended her father, saying the sexual abuse accusation was false and stemmed from a contentious custody battle. “My father was not a child molester,” she said. “He was a good dad. He was a human being.”

The details surrounding Lunas Campos’ death highlight ongoing concerns about restraint-related fatalities in detention settings. A 2024 AP investigation documented hundreds of deaths during police encounters where individuals were restrained face down, often saying “I can’t breathe” before suffocating. Authorities frequently attribute such deaths to preexisting medical conditions or drug use rather than the restraint techniques.

Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist who has studied prone restraint deaths, explained that a homicide ruling indicates the guards’ actions caused Lunas Campos’ death, but doesn’t necessarily mean they intended to kill him. “‘But for’ the actions of the officers, he would not have died. For us, that’s generally a homicide,” he said.

Jeanette Pagan-Lopez, the mother of Lunas Campos’ two youngest children, has been struggling to get answers and arrange for his body to be returned to Rochester. She said ICE officials told her the only way his body could be returned free of charge was if she consented to cremation, which she declined.

“He wasn’t a bad guy,” Pagan-Lopez said. “I just want justice, and his body here. That’s all I want.”

The fact that the death occurred on an Army base could limit state and local authorities’ jurisdiction to investigate. The El Paso County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on whether it was involved in an investigation, while the Department of Homeland Security stated only that “this is still an active investigation, and more details are forthcoming.”