Geraldo Lunas Campos
Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban man and father of four, had lived in Rochester, New York, for about two decades, and his daughter, Kary Lunas, said he was a good dad. He died on January 3, 2026, while held at Camp East Montana, a tent immigration camp on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. ICE first described a medical emergency, and DHS later said he had tried to take his own life and stopped breathing during a struggle with staff. The El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression, while a fellow person held at the camp told the Washington Post that guards were choking him as he said he could not breathe; DHS disputes that account, his children have sued four guards and the companies that ran the facility, and the FBI has said it is investigating.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). The El Paso County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression, while DHS says he tried to take his own life and that staff struggled with him, and his family's lawsuit and detainee witnesses say guards choked him.
Reported by: El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); ICE and DHS (the agency that held him); Lunas Campos's family and their lawsuit (family or their lawyers); detainee witnesses.
News reports (40)
- Detainee Death Report: Diaz, Victor Manuel
- Detainee Death Report: Lunas Campos, Geraldo
- Detainee Death Report: Gaspar-Andres, Francisco
- Migrant death at ICE detention facility in El Paso likely to be ruled homicide
- Report: Migrant's death at Fort Bliss detention center likely ruled homicide
- 'ICE Kills': Guards Reportedly Choked Man to Death at El Paso Detention Center
- ICE custody death, immigration raids in El Paso spark calls to action, pleas for enforcement without cruelty
- Congresswoman Escobar Statement on Detainee Death at Camp East Montana Likely to be Classified as Homicide
- Death of man at ICE camp could be investigated as homicide after examiner’s report
- Deaths in Detention Warn of Horrors Behind ICE’s Prison Walls
- Minnesota detainees denied visitors at Fort Bliss following 3rd death at ICE facility
- ICE says Cuban immigrant died while attempting suicide. A witness says guards pinned and choked him
- Third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says
- El Paso medical examiner rules death in ICE camp a homicide
- Medical examiner rules ICE detainee’s death at Texas facility a homicide
- The black hole of Camp East Montana: Three deaths in 44 days at the largest migrant detention center in the US
- Death of Cuban migrant in ICE custody ruled homicide due to asphyxia - 13WHAM-TV
- Medical examiner rules migrant's death at Camp East Montana a homicide
- Cuban immigrant in ICE custody died of homicide due to asphyxia, autopsy finds
- Death of a detainee at an ICE detention center in Texas is ruled a homicide
- Cuban-born immigrant died by homicide at ICE facility in Texas, autopsy finds
- Immigrant deaths intensify scrutiny of detention camp as El Paso becomes deportation hub
- Private guard called 911 in ICE detainee homicide, saying man 'kept going' after suicide attempt
- ICE Was Warned About Conditions at Fort Bliss Migrant Jail. Then 2 Men Died.
- Nicaraguan man's death at troubled Texas detention camp was reported as a suicide, 911 records show
- Deaths of migrants in ICE custody raises concerns
- ICE detainee's death ruled a homicide by medical examiner
- After El Paso medical examiner ruled migrant’s death a homicide, ICE sent next body to Army hospital
- 'Let go of me': Cuban man who died in ICE custody allegedly slammed by guards, witnesses say - ABC News
- Cuban immigrant's death at ICE facility ruled a homicide, autopsy report says - ABC News
- ICE detainee dies of 'presumed suicide' at Texas detention facility, agency says - ABC News
- Six deaths in six weeks: What to know about ICE detentions in Texas
- ICE detention deaths are on a record pace. One Texas facility bears the brunt
- DHS watchdog to review ICE detainee deaths, use of force
- Family sues Camp East Montana operators, alleging guards killed Cuban detainee
- Cuban Migrant's Death in ICE Custody Was a Homicide, County Says. His Family Wants Answers — and $1 Million
- Geraldo Lunas Campos Died in a Texas ICE Jail. Now His Family Is Suing.
- “You’re Only Getting Out Deported or Dead”: Abusive US Immigration Detention at Ft. Bliss | HRW
- Shootings, detention deaths put US immigration enforcement under scrutiny
- ICE Is a Death Machine