Overview
- A local review of 130 El Paso 911 calls from Aug. 17 to Jan. 20 shows frequent medical and mental health emergencies at the facility, including 24 cardiac-related calls, 17 suicide-related incidents, 16 seizures and 14 neurological events.
- The Associated Press previously reported detainee accounts of overcrowding, inadequate food and care for roughly 3,000 people per day in six large tents built in mid-August at Fort Bliss.
- DHS denies broad claims about substandard conditions and calls the reported staff betting pool on detainee suicides false, saying the site provides comprehensive medical and mental health services and was recently inspected by ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight.
- A medical examiner ruled that detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos died by homicide due to asphyxia on Jan. 3, and staff reported a separate Jan. 14 death by suicide of a 36-year-old Nicaraguan man.
- The camp is under a measles lockdown that has paused visits, and DHS says it is reviewing the facility’s operations and contract as public-health restrictions and scrutiny increase.