Immigrant detainees sue ICE over horrific Fort Bliss conditions

Four detainees filed a first-of-its-kind federal class-action lawsuit in Texas accusing ICE’s Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss of “inhumane” treatment, severe medical neglect, and violence by guards. The suit names ICE Director Todd Lyons and Homeland Security

For more than a month, Gerald Akari Angye says he has been living through a nightmare he never expected to find in the United States.

Angye. one of four detainees who filed a federal lawsuit on Saturday. claims guards at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center known as Camp East Montana on the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss base near El Paso. Texas. beat him so severely he had to be hospitalized and then placed in a wheelchair. He also alleges he was locked in solitary confinement for 15 days.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, is the first legal challenge brought against the facility. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status. arguing the abuse extends beyond them—on behalf of themselves. all detainees of the camp. and future people held there.

In the complaint. the conditions are described in stark terms: detainees. according to the filing. face “inhumane” treatment and a catalogue of harms that includes severe beatings and sexual harassment by guards. squalid living conditions. spoiled or inadequate food. and no meaningful programming or recreation. The complaint also alleges limited access to basic hygiene items such as soap. razors and nail clippers. outbreaks of disease. and limited or no access to sunlight.

Angye’s statement, released through the American Civil Liberties Union, captures the emotional weight of the allegations. “No human being should ever have to go through this,” Angye said. “I have already experienced torture in my home country of Cameroon and I never thought I would experience such severely violent treatment by guards here in the United States of America.”.

Another detainee named in the complaint as Navdeep—described as a former mail handler with no criminal history—details a different kind of deterioration. Navdeep says he was subjected to dirty toilet water that flowed into his sleeping area. difficulty accessing cups for drinking water. and breathing problems blamed on excessive dust from the desert. The lawsuit says Navdeep wore the same clothes, including underwear, for three weeks.

“We could die here, and it it feels like no one here would care,” Navdeep said in the ACLU statement.

The complaint also points to medical neglect, saying detained people do not receive timely medications to manage serious conditions including HIV, cancer and diabetes.

Camp East Montana’s public health history has already been under scrutiny. In February, the detention center was temporarily closed to visitors because of a measles outbreak.

The suit further alleges that detainees are housed in units without windows. in cramped spaces. amid a constant odor of urine and feces. It describes a lack of clean water and an account of basic meals: the complaint says detainees receive only two pieces of bread. a piece of ham or bologna. a slice of cheese and a cookie for each three meals.

ICE Director Todd Lyons and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin are named as defendants.

DHS rejected the allegations outright. In an email to NPR. a DHS spokesperson who would not give their name said the claims are “categorically false.” The spokesperson added that ICE is “regularly audited and inspected by external agencies” to ensure compliance with “performance-based national detention standards. ” and said detainees receive “proper meals. quality water. blankets. medical treatment. ” along with “opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” The statement also said ICE has “higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”.

Camp East Montana is a sprawling encampment of tents in the Chihuahuan Desert that opened in 2025. It can hold up to 5,000 people but usually houses about 3,000.

The stakes inside the camp have been underscored by prior reporting and oversight. At least three people have died at the center, including Cuban national Gerald Lunas Campos, according to previous NPR reporting. The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Campos’ death a homicide and that no one has been charged.

Earlier this year, ICE found 49 violations to detention standards at the center. Those violations included inadequate medical care and a failure by staff to “accurately document required checks to prevent significant self-harm and suicide.” DHS has disputed those claims.

Lawmakers have also sought a closer look. Several members of Congress conducted unannounced oversight visits to the detention center. Minnesota Congresswoman Kelly Morrison. a Democrat. visited in March after ICE detained thousands of people from her state and flew them to the encampment during the federal crackdown targeting Minneapolis. Morrison said she was horrified by the cruelty she witnessed.

In the lawsuit filed Saturday, the plaintiffs argue that the pattern of harm is not accidental or isolated—that it reflects a system where detainees are left without basic protections, including medical care, safety, hygiene access and normal living conditions.

For Angye, the central claim is simple, even if the consequences are not. “No human being should ever have to go through this,” he said. The legal battle now asks a federal court to determine whether the government’s detention practices at Camp East Montana amount to constitutional and human rights violations—and whether the camp should be allowed to keep operating as it has. under its current rules and oversight.

ICE Camp East Montana Fort Bliss Markwayne Mullin Todd Lyons immigrant detainees lawsuit ACLU Gerald Akari Angye Navdeep measles outbreak detention standards violations