A second man has died within two weeks at a United States immigration detention facility in Texas, intensifying scrutiny of conditions and oversight in ICE custody amid a renewed enforcement drive under President Donald Trump, who is serving a second term as U.S. president. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed on Monday that Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan national, was found unresponsive at the Camp East Montana detention facility in El Paso.
The death comes as civil rights groups, lawmakers and migrant advocates continue to raise alarms over the rising number of fatalities in immigration detention centres across the country. With at least two deaths already reported at the same facility this year, and dozens recorded nationwide in recent years, the incident has renewed calls for transparency, accountability and independent investigations into detention practices.
Discovery of Victor Manuel Diaz at Camp East Montana
ICE said Diaz was found “unconscious and unresponsive in his room” on 14 January at Camp East Montana, an extensive tent-based detention facility located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. According to the agency, contract medical staff were immediately alerted and life-saving measures were initiated on site.
Emergency medical technicians later arrived at the facility but were unable to revive him. Diaz was pronounced dead shortly after 4pm. ICE stated that his death is being treated as a “presumed suicide,” while emphasising that the official cause of death remains under investigation.
The agency’s announcement has prompted renewed debate over mental health support and monitoring within detention facilities, particularly in large-scale, temporary camps that house hundreds of detainees under heightened enforcement conditions.
Detention and Immigration History of the Deceased
Diaz, who was originally from Nicaragua, was detained on 6 January in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the Trump administration’s controversial deportation blitz. ICE said he was taken into custody as part of intensified efforts to enforce existing removal orders.
He had first entered the United States in March 2024 through the Mexican border, where he was apprehended by border patrol agents. After being issued a court date with an immigration judge, Diaz was released on parole pending further proceedings.
On 26 August last year, an immigration judge ordered his removal “in absentia” after he failed to appear for his hearing. ICE later detained him on 12 January with the intention of carrying out his deportation, just two days before his death.
Second Death in the Same Facility Within Days
Diaz’s death follows that of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant who died at the same Camp East Montana facility on 3 January. ICE said Campos was “experiencing medical distress” and that staff provided emergency care in an attempt to save his life.
However, the circumstances surrounding Campos’ death have become the subject of intense scrutiny. The local medical examiner reportedly determined a preliminary cause of death as “asphyxia due to neck and chest compression,” raising the possibility of a homicide investigation.
ICE has maintained that Campos experienced a medical emergency after being “disruptive while in line for medication,” a statement that has been contested by witness accounts and subsequent reporting.
Conflicting Accounts and Eyewitness Testimony
Santos Jesus Flores, who was detained alongside Campos, told the Washington Post that he witnessed guards restraining him aggressively. According to Flores, five guards were choking Campos as he repeatedly pleaded in Spanish that he could not breathe.
“He said, ‘I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe.’ After that, we don’t hear his voice anymore and that’s it,” Flores was quoted as saying. The account has intensified calls for an independent investigation into the incident.
After reports emerged suggesting that Campos’ death might be investigated as a homicide, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in an email response that Campos had attempted to take his own life and had “violently resisted” officers who were trying to assist him. A DHS spokesperson later reiterated this claim, though it was not included in ICE’s initial statement.
A Broader Pattern of Deaths in ICE Custody
The two recent deaths at Camp East Montana come against a backdrop of rising fatalities in U.S. immigration detention. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year, the highest number recorded in two decades, according to official figures.
Reports indicate that at least five people have already died in ICE custody this year. In addition to Diaz and Campos, another detainee at Camp East Montana, Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, died at a nearby hospital on 3 December.
Advocates argue that the growing death toll reflects systemic issues within the detention system, including inadequate medical care, mental health neglect and excessive use of force. ICE, for its part, has said it remains committed to detainee welfare and to cooperating with all investigations.
