Conditions at largest US immigration detention centre under scrutiny as rights groups file lawsuit

Civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over alleged human rights abuses at Camp East Montana, the largest U.S. immigration detention center. Located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas, the facility has seen three deaths in the nine months since it opened. The lawsuit aims to improve conditions for the more than 2,700 detainees held at the sprawling tent encampment, which was established as part of President Donald Trump's mass-deportation strategy. A representative for DHS categorically denied the claims of inhumane conditions, asserting that the camp's operations are false. However, a February inspection mandated by Congress identified 49 violations of detention standards, including 11 related to the use of force and restraints, and five concerning medical care. "We’re suing to ensure that no other human being has to endure the inhumane treatment," stated Kyle Virgien, an attorney for the National Prison Project of the ACLU, which brought the complaint alongside Human Rights Watch and the Texas Civil Rights Project. The lawsuit details allegations of detainees being confined in windowless enclosures, suffering physical abuse from guards, and receiving inadequate medical and mental healthcare. It also claims detainees are subjected to indiscriminate solitary confinement and exposed to diseases like measles and tuberculosis. The DHS representative countered that no detainees are being beaten, abused, or denied medical care, and reported no measles cases as of March 12th, nor any spike in deaths under ICE custody during the Trump administration. ICE maintains it upholds higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons for citizens. Among the plaintiffs is Venezuelan immigrant Erik Ivan Rodriguez, who claims officials used physical violence to coerce him into signing deportation papers. Gerald Akari Angye from Cameroon also alleges he was beaten by guards. The lawsuit further points to the January 3rd death of a Cuban immigrant at Camp East Montana, ruled a homicide by medical examiners due to "asphyxia due to neck and torso compression." While immigration officials initially attributed the death to "medical distress," they later suggested a suicide attempt during which guards intervened. The suit alleges he was beaten to death after requesting asthma medication. A fourth man died shortly after his release from the camp.

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We’re suing to ensure that no other human being has to endure the inhumane treatment