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'You Only Get Out Through Deportation or Death': Report Exposes Severe Human Rights Violations at ICE Camp

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • A new report by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU details systematic abuse and severe human rights violations at ICE's Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.
  • Detainees face arbitrary violence, life-threatening neglect, and inhumane conditions, with three deaths reported since the facility opened.
  • The report, titled "You Only Get Out Through Deportation or Death," highlights concerns of forced disappearances, lack of legal access, and denial of contact with family.

Detainees at Camp East Montana, the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in El Paso, Texas, are systematically subjected to abuse and severe human rights violations, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The report, titled "You Only Get Out Through Deportation or Death," details allegations of arbitrary violence, life-threatening neglect, and inhumane conditions within the sprawling tent facility, which opened last year on the Fort Bliss military base and can hold up to 5,000 people. Since its inception, three individuals have died at the camp.

HRW and the ACLU state that many detainees were arrested despite possessing documents proving their legal status in the United States. Interviewees described violent arrests by unidentified agents. Some were transferred to Camp East Montana without their families or lawyers knowing their whereabouts, and were not entered into the official ICE system, denying them legal aid and family contact. HRW suggests these practices could constitute "forced disappearances," a violation of international law.

Animals are treated better than us. They get food and medicine when they are sick. When we are sick, nobody listens.

— DetaineeDescribing the living conditions and lack of care at Camp East Montana.

Life inside Camp East Montana is described as dire. Detainees report regular mistreatment, chronic malnutrition, and unhygienic, degrading living conditions. "Animals are treated better than us," one Colombian man told HRW. "They get food and medicine when they are sick. When we are sick, nobody listens." He added, "We live in cramped, dirty spaces and don't see sunlight for weeks. We are deliberately ignored and left to our fate."

A 28-year-old man from Honduras shared with HRW how the conditions are taking a severe mental toll, stating, "Sometimes I look at myself..."

We live in cramped, dirty spaces and don't see sunlight for weeks. We are deliberately ignored and left to our fate.

— DetaineeDetailing the daily hardships faced by those detained at the facility.
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Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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