Protesters opposed to mass deportations by ICE held signs during a demonstration at the Cassidy Gate on Fort Bliss, the U.S. Army base where a large new ICE detention center is under construction in El Paso, Texas, on August 17, 2025. — Reuters
Rights organizations have criticized Trump’s immigration policies. Since January of last year, approximately 50 individuals have died while in ICE custody. The Trump administration denies allegations of abuse within ICE detention facilities.
Detainees at a Texas ICE detention center told human rights groups they were assaulted by guards, refused medical treatment, and prevented from contacting family members or lawyers, according to a report released Wednesday. The report, compiled by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, is extensive and based on interviews with 80 detainees focusing on conditions at Camp East Montana located at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
“People detained at Camp East Montana reported frequent beatings and other signs of excessive force by guards, persistent malnutrition, and living conditions that are both unsanitary and degrading,” the report states. “These abuses violate basic protections under U.S. and international human rights laws.”
This is part of a series of investigations highlighting ongoing abuses at the facility, which is the largest immigration detention center in the country. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, publicly refuted these findings, claiming reports of inhumane conditions are entirely false.
“Detained individuals are not being beaten or mistreated,” DHS stated. “We take seriously the safety and health of everyone in our custody and ensure medical care is provided to all.”
The department added that detainees are granted full due process, receive proper meals and water, and have access to medical services and communication with family and legal representatives.
One detainee, identified as Ismael M., 28, from Honduras, shared that he experienced depression and suicidal thoughts during his five-plus months in detention. “Sometimes I look at my bed sheets and wonder if it might be easier to hang myself than survive this torture,” he said.
Camp East Montana has repeatedly been criticized by immigration advocates; a recent government watchdog report criticized its failure to document use-of-force incidents, provide medication to seriously ill detainees, and criticized the expenditure of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on hasty contracts.
ICE remains a symbol of an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign led by President Donald Trump, which human rights groups say infringes on free speech and due process rights. The crackdown has fostered an environment of danger, especially for ethnic minorities, who have expressed concerns about racial profiling.
President Trump defends these measures as efforts to bolster national security. Since he assumed office in January last year, around 50 individuals have lost their lives in ICE custody nationwide.