Man in ICE Custody’s Death Is Likely a Homicide by Agents: Report

The death of a man who was being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Texas is being treated as a homicide caused by ICE agents, according to a newly reported account.

The Washington Post reported Thursday, Jan. 15, that the daughter of detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, provided the outlet with an audio recording. In it, an employee with El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner allegedly says a doctor there “is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compression.”

As toxicology results remain pending, the staffer reportedly adds that “our doctor is believing that we’re going to be listing the manner of death as homicide,” according to the outlet.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Campos died after an incident at the Camp East Montana detention facility on Jan. 3.

“On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator, attempted to take his own life while he was detained at the Camp East Montana detention facility. The security staff immediately intervened to save his life,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson claimed Campos, who was from Cuba, “violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life,” and then “stopped breathing and lost consciousness.”

DHS said medical staff responded and attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“ICE takes seriously the health and safety of all those detained in our custody. This is still an active investigation, and more details are forthcoming. ICE investigates the circumstances of all deaths in custody,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said Campos had been in the United States since 1996 and had faced multiple criminal convictions, including felonies. DHS added that an immigration judge ordered his removal from the U.S. on March 1, 2005, but the deportation was not carried out at the time because the government could not obtain travel documents.

According to the statement, Campos was transferred into ICE custody at Camp East Montana on Sept. 6, 2025, and remained there until his death.

In a press release issued by ICE on Jan. 9, the agency said that before he died, Campos “became disruptive while in line for medication and refused to return to his assigned dorm,” leading to him being separated from other detainees.

While in segregation, staff members allegedly observed that he was in distress, the release said.

A man identified by the Post as Santos Jesus Flores, who said he was housed in the same unit as Campos, told the outlet he saw at least five guards struggling with him after Campos told them he did not have his medication.

Flores also claimed he saw Campos being choked and heard him repeatedly saying, “No puedo respirar” — Spanish for “I can’t breathe,” the Post reported.

“After that, we don’t hear his voice anymore and that’s it,” Flores said.