An ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on 8 August 2025. Photograph: Paul Ratje/Reuters
A sprawling immigration detention site on the Fort Bliss army base in Texas is under intense scrutiny following explosive allegations of brutality, sexual assault on immigrant women, and illegal deportations by officers operating the camp. The allegations—detailed by a coalition of civil and human rights organizations—paint a picture of a facility where abuses are not isolated incidents but part of a deeply entrenched culture of impunity.
The accusations were delivered in a blistering 19-page letter sent to top officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and military leadership at Fort Bliss. The document claims that officers working inside Camp East Montana are operating far outside the boundaries of ICE policy, federal law, and constitutional protections.
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The groups are urging the government to shut the camp down immediately.
Inside the wind-battered tent compound—where more than 2,700 people are held—advocates say conditions have deteriorated to the point of crisis.
The letter was addressed to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and others, and copied to the DHS inspector general and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
But instead of acknowledging the severity of the allegations, DHS responded with a sweeping and categorical denial.
“Any claim that there are ‘inhumane’ conditions at ICE detention centers is categorically false. No detainees are being beaten or abused,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Testimonies Describe Masked Officers, Coerced Border Crossings, and Threats
The accusations in the letter are built on sworn statements from more than 45 detainees. Their stories shine a harsh light on what advocates describe as rogue, unlawful operations carried out under the cloak of the desert.
Among the most disturbing claims: officers reportedly shackle migrants—especially Cubans and Guatemalans—drive them roughly an hour west to a remote border crossing near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and force them to climb over the border wall into Mexico. No hearings. No lawyers. No due process.
Some say masked agents told them they would be imprisoned if they refused.
A Cuban asylum seeker identified as “Eduardo” said officers trapped him in a chilling ultimatum: jump the wall into Mexico or face federal charges and be shipped to a prison in “Africa or El Salvador.” He alleged that masked men beat detainees to force them to comply.
DHS, however, responded by doubling down on its position, with McLaughlin saying migrants could be sent to any number of third countries.
“If you break our laws and come to our country illegally, you could end up in any number of third countries,” she said. “These agreements ensure due process under the U.S. Constitution.”
Internal Records Confirm Resistance—But Media Access Remains Blocked
The Washington Post first reported the letter. The newspaper corroborated that four Cubans did resist removal around the dates documented in their testimonies. But the paper also noted that many details were difficult to verify because detainees have virtually no means to document abuses—and the government has refused media access to the facility.
McLaughlin maintained that detainees receive proper meals, medical care, and access to legal counsel and family. But advocates say that claim collapses under even minimal scrutiny.
Inside the Camp: Allegations of Sexual Violence, Beatings, and Humiliation
Migrants wearing face masks and shackles on their hands and feet sit on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 30, 2025, awaiting their deportation to Guatemala. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez, File)
The coalition’s letter includes deeply troubling accounts of physical and sexual abuse used to punish or intimidate detainees.
A Cuban man referred to as “Isaac” said that after refusing to sign a voluntary deportation order, guards repeatedly slammed his head against a wall. One officer then allegedly “grabbed and crushed my testicles between their fingers,” leaving him in agony and humiliation.
Another detainee—“Samuel,” a teenager—described how one officer squeezed his testicles while another jammed fingers deep into his ears. According to the letter, he was later beaten unconscious for turning off an overhead light. He suffered broken teeth and testicular injuries requiring hospitalization. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the ambulance bill was sent to him.
Sewage-Flooded Tents, Failing Plumbing, and Medical Neglect
The letter also highlights appalling living conditions. The makeshift soft-sided tents—each packed with 72 people—reportedly have failing plumbing systems.
Detainees described sewage backflow that floods living and dining areas with water carrying feces and urine. Because cleaning supplies are scarce, some said they were forced to mop up human waste using their own clothing.
Medical neglect, the letter states, rises to the level of “deliberate indifference.”
Accounts include:
diabetics denied insulin for days
hypertensive detainees were ignored until they visibly collapsed
Food rations so small and spoiled that they cause rapid weight loss
DHS insists the opposite, claiming detainees receive dietitian-approved meals and “comprehensive medical attention.”
“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States. Get a grip,” McLaughlin said.
When pressed for clarification on any of the specific allegations, DHS responded with a one-word reply: “No.”
Advocates: This Disaster Was Predictable
Eunice Hyunhye Cho of the ACLU National Prison Project said the conditions described in the letter reflect a systemic failure that advocates have been warning about for years.
“Placing thousands of people in tent camps in the middle of the desert, in a military base, without adequate staffing was a recipe for humanitarian disaster,” Cho said. “Although shocking, but not surprising, this nightmare has come true.”
Eunice Hyunhye Cho, Senior Counsel, ACLU National Prison Project
Local leaders have also repeatedly warned of the dangers of keeping vulnerable migrants in tent-based detention.
Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who represents the El Paso area, has demanded immediate transparency from DHS.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, will deliver the Democrats’ Spanish-language response to President Trump’s State of the Union address.
She said she was informed of “dangerous and inhumane” conditions inside Camp East Montana and called the site a deteriorating “public health hazard.”
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This is horrible, inhumane, cruel, disgusting, atrocious!
Something MUST CHANGE!!
Congress must demand, with (A Federal Judges Order) to be allowed to go on this property to view & investigate-NOW!
This CANNOT BE ALLOWED!
Where is America headed?😢