A Cuban-born immigrant died in a fatal shooting at an ICE facility in Texas, an autopsy found
A Cuban immigrant held in solitary confinement at a Texas immigration detention center died after guards held him down and stopped breathing, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday that ruled the death a homicide.
Geraldo Lunas Campos died on January 3 following an altercation with security guards. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initially said the 55-year-old father of four was trying to kill himself and that officers tried to save him.
But a witness told The Associated Press last week that Lunas Campos was handcuffed as at least five guards held him to the ground and one put his arm around his neck and choked him until he passed out.
At least 30 people died in ICE custody last year, the highest rate in two decades, agency statistics show. In the first 10 days of 2026, four immigrants, including Lunas Campos, died in custody.
Lunas Campos’ death was the third in less than two months at Camp East Montana, a desert tent camp on the grounds of Fort Bliss, a military base near El Paso.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons to tell Congress about the latest death.
“DHS must preserve all evidence – including stopping their efforts to extort witnesses,” Escobar said Wednesday. “I repeat my request that Camp East Montana be closed and the contract with the company that manages it be terminated.”
Asphyxia was the cause of death, the medical examiner said
An autopsy report by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office found Lunas Campos’ body showed signs of a struggle, including bruises on his chest and knees. He was bleeding from his neck.
The deputy medical examiner, Dr. Adam Gonzalez, found that the cause of death was asphyxia due to compression of the neck and torso.
The report said witnesses saw Lunas Campos “unresponsive while being restrained by law enforcement.”
It did not elaborate on what happened during the struggle but mentioned the evidence of injuries to his neck, head and stomach which are related to restraint. The report also noted the presence of petechial hemorrhages – small blood spots from burst capillaries that can be associated with severe stress or injury – on the eyelids and the skin of the neck.
Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist who reviewed the AP autopsy report, said the presence of petechiae in the eyes supports the conclusion that asphyxia caused death. Those injuries raise stress on the body and are often associated with such deaths, he said.
He said the bruises on the body of Lunas Campos may indicate restraint and the injury to the neck is consistent with a hand or knee to the neck.
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The government has provided the checking accounts
ICE’s initial account of the death, which did not include mention of an altercation with a guard, said Lunas Campos became disoriented and staff took him into a holding cell where inmates are held.
“While being separated, the staff noticed he was in distress and contacted on-site medical personnel for assistance,” the agency said in its January 9 statement. “Medical personnel responded, initiated life-saving measures, and requested emergency medical assistance.”
Lunas Campos was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.
The autopsy did not mention any suicide attempts.
It is not clear whether the security guards present at the time of Lunas Campos’ death were government employees or private contractors.
Last Thursday, after Lunas Campos’ family was first notified of a possible homicide, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin amended the government’s account, saying he tried to kill himself and security guards tried to help him.
“Campos violently resisted the guards and continued to try to kill himself,” he said. “During the struggle, Campos stopped breathing and fainted.”
The final decision to kill the medical examiner can often be critical in determining whether any guards are criminally or legally arrested. The fact that Lunas Campos died at a military base could limit the legal powers of state and local officials to investigate.
The AP reported in August that the $1.2 billion US contract to build and operate Camp East Montana, expected to be the largest detention center in the US, was awarded to a private contractor headquartered in Richmond, Va.
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ICE previously announced that on December 3, 2025, an immigrant from Guatemala who was being held at Camp East Montana died after being transferred to an El Paso hospital for care. The agency said Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, is suspected to have died of liver and kidney failure.
On Sunday, ICE announced that Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old from Nicaragua, died at Camp East Montana on Jan. 14 for “presumed suicide.” The agency said Diaz was arrested by ICE earlier this month at an immigration facility in Minneapolis.
Flagged for deportation after conviction
Lunas Campos was among the first detainees sent to Camp Montana East, arriving in September after ICE arrested him in Rochester, NY, where he has lived for more than two decades. He was legally admitted to the US in 1996, part of a wave of Cuban immigrants who sought to reach Florida by boat.
ICE said he was picked up in July as part of a planned immigration enforcement program because of a criminal conviction that made him eligible for removal.
New York court records show Lunas Campos was convicted in 2003 of having sex with a person under the age of 11, a charge for which he was sentenced to one year in prison and placed on the state sex registry.
Lunas Campos was also sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release in 2009 after being convicted of attempted sale of a controlled substance, according to New York records. He completed his sentence in January 2017.
After the final autopsy report was released Wednesday, DHS’s McLaughlin issued a statement insisting that Lunas Campos “was an illegal alien and a convicted child molester.”
DHS has not responded to questions about whether any outside law enforcement agencies were also investigating.
