911 Calls Reveal Medical Response to Detainee Deaths at Camp East Montana

Audio recordings show staff initially reported suicide attempts before detainees died at the ICE facility in El Paso.

Published on Feb. 17, 2026

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New audio recordings of 911 calls from the medical staff at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas reveal that they initially reported detainees had attempted to hang or strangle themselves before two detainees died at the ICE facility in separate incidents on January 3 and January 14 of this year. The calls provide details on the medical response, but portions are redacted.

Why it matters

The deaths of detainees at the Camp East Montana facility have raised concerns about the treatment and medical care of individuals in immigration detention centers. The 911 call recordings provide insight into how the incidents were initially reported and the medical response, which could shed light on the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The details

In the first 911 call on January 3, the caller, who does not identify themselves, tells the operator that a detainee "tried to hang himself" and they had to put him in handcuffs as he "kept going." The caller later says medical staff are performing CPR and the detainee has vomit in his mouth. The second call on January 14 is from a health services administrator who reports finding a detainee with their "pants tied up to their neck" and says they are "working on him now." The audio in both calls is redacted at certain points.

  • On January 3, 2026, a detainee died at Camp East Montana, with the death ruled a homicide.
  • On January 14, 2026, another detainee died at the facility.

The players

Geraldo Lunas Campos

A detainee who died at Camp East Montana on January 3, 2026, with his death ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner.

Victor Manuel Diaz

A detainee who died at Camp East Montana on January 14, 2026, with his family calling for an investigation into his death.

Camp East Montana

An ICE detention facility located on Fort Bliss property in El Paso, Texas where the two detainee deaths occurred.

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What they’re saying

“We got a situation where they found someone, that committed suicide or tried to commit suicide. And so we're working on them right now at the clinic.”

— Health Service Administrator (KVIA)

“We have a detainee here in observation in one of our urgent units, our rooms in the medical clinic area. And, you know, they were doing rounds, and they just found him, with, I guess his pants tied up to his neck, at least. I was not the one that got here, but he's actually, like I mentioned, they're working on him now.”

— Health Service Administrator (KVIA)

What’s next

ABC-7 plans to have full coverage of the 911 call audio and its contents in their afternoon newscasts.

The takeaway

The 911 call recordings from Camp East Montana provide troubling details about the medical response to the deaths of two detainees, raising further questions about the treatment and care of individuals in immigration detention centers and the need for thorough investigations into these incidents.