Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant, who died tragically on January 3. His passing, under suspicious circumstances at a federal detention center in Texas, wanda boliu/flickr CC BY 2.0 In July of last year, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was actually in ICE’s custody at the facility when he died, again raising troubling and serious questions about how ICE treats its detainees.
According to witness statements, Lunas Campos resisted going into a segregation unit. He argued that he should have access to life-saving, essential medications. His struggle supposedly increased when five guards joined in, causing a confrontation that resulted in his killing. Santos Jesus Flores, another detainee, observed the incident. He recounted that the guards strangled Lunas Campos during the violent encounter.
Flores recalled Lunas Campos’s desperate pleas: “He said, ‘I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe.’ After that, we don’t hear his voice anymore and that’s it. The local medical examiner later determined that the preliminary cause of death was “asphyxia due to neck and chest compression,” prompting consideration of a homicide investigation.
This one incident, though tragic in its own right, is just one in a growing trend where many ICE detainees have perished in custody. In fact, Lunas Campos was one of four detainees who passed away within the first ten days of this year alone. After all, last year became the agency’s deadliest in more than two decades. This exceedingly high number has generated justified outcry by human rights advocates regarding the lack of medical attention and subpar treatment of these detainees.
A wide range of human rights organizations have condemned the detention camp where Lunas Campos was imprisoned. They spoke up about their abuse, and often, the atrocious living circumstances that existed within those walls. Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a fellow detainee at the same facility, died in a hospital late last year after developing health complications. Instead, critics claim these incidents reveal a deep-rooted pattern of systemic failures in ICE operations.
ICE officials defended their actions, stating that Lunas Campos had been “disruptive while in line for medication.” Advocates for detainees insist these justifications don’t hold water. Letters aside, they feel like the gravity of this crisis and the heartbreaking loss of life has still not been adequately addressed.
The Department of Homeland Security has branded people in their situation as the “worst of the worst.” This calls to attention the urgency of reform, even through the bleakest of times, within the immigration detention system. The community continues to demand accountability and more answers about the treatment of its most vulnerable members. First, they focus on the need for accountability and fundamental change in the wake of recent events.