A new wave of allegations is putting a spotlight on what ICE detainees say is violent abuse behind the fences of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of allowing “horrific acts of intimate torture, sexual abuse, and brutal violence” against men held at the facility, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the United States. In a letter to ICE and a set of sworn declarations, the ACLU said men detained at Fort Bliss reported beatings, sexual assault, denial of medical care, and pressure tactics meant to push them into self-deportation.
The organization said its claims are based on interviews with more than 45 people currently detained there, including 16 signed declarations describing alleged mistreatment by officers. The allegations arrive as the Trump administration expands immigration detention, including the use of U.S. military bases, and as deaths in ICE custody continue to draw scrutiny.
Among the cases highlighted is Geraldo Lunas Campos, who spent months detained at Camp East Montana in El Paso before dying in ICE custody. The ACLU said his death was ruled a homicide after reports that an officer choked him during an altercation. The group also pointed to the death of Francisco Gaspar Andres, a Guatemalan immigrant who died on December 3, 2025, from liver and kidney failure after what the ACLU says was inadequate medical care at Fort Bliss.
“‘These are not isolated incidents,’” the organization said, arguing the deaths reflect broader, systemic failures.
One of the most graphic accounts came from a detained teenager identified as Samuel, who said he was beaten so severely he was hospitalized. Samuel said one officer “‘grabbed my testicles and firmly crushed them,’” while another “‘forced his fingers deep into my ears.’” The ACLU said other men reported similar assaults, adding: “‘These acts of violence,’ the ACLU wrote, ‘reflect a pattern of brutality that violates even ICE’s minimal standards.’”
In closing, the organization warned: “‘If this is the state of a brand-new, billion-dollar facility within its first 90 days,’ the ACLU wrote, ‘the outlook for the next wave of military-base detention centers is dire.’” It added, “‘What we are witnessing at Fort Bliss is not an accident,’ the ACLU said. ‘It is the predictable result of reckless expansion, minimal safeguards, and virtually no oversight.’”
