Full Breakdown
Emergency Calls Expose Medical and Mental-Health Crises at Camp East Montana
8/28/2026, 10:07:11 PM
Emergency Calls Reveal Systemic Gaps
A series of 911 recordings obtained by ProPublica show detainees at Camp East Montana repeatedly receiving delayed or denied emergency care. In one call a nurse described a man who had swallowed a foreign object and was in “agonizing pain,” yet staff did not transport him to a hospital. Other calls documented a detainee with severe kidney-stone pain, a woman with COVID-19 lacking oxygen, and an overdose case, all of which remained under the facility’s limited medical capacity.
Background and Facility Overview
Camp East Montana is an immigration detention center built on former military land in El Paso, Texas. It was launched as a model for the Trump administration’s large-scale deportation strategy and is slated to remain operational through September 2027, according to ICE.
Mortality and Health Incidents
Between December 2025 and February 2026, three detainees died at the facility. The first death involved a Guatemalan man who suffered liver and kidney failure. The second, a Cuban national with a history of mental illness, was ruled a homicide after an altercation with guards over medication. The third death, a Nicaraguan man, was recorded as an unresponsive incident with a piece of fabric around his neck; the autopsy has not been released. These fatalities make the center one of the deadliest detention sites in the United States during that period.
Official Statements and Responses
DHS officials maintain that the center’s medical care is the “best they’ve ever received” while in custody. When asked about the specific 911 calls, a DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the incidents but reiterated the facility’s referral process for higher-level care. ICE has confirmed its intention to keep the detention center open through the 2027 deadline.
Advocacy and Criticism
Legal advocates and former detainees describe conditions as “torture” and liken treatment to “being treated like animals.” A Venezuelan detainee on a hunger strike reported severe emotional and physical distress, citing a lack of case information and court dates. Critics argue that the repeated emergency calls and the three deaths illustrate systemic failures in medical and mental-health response, contradicting DHS’s claims of comprehensive care.
