ICE detainees are asking a federal judge to intervene at the agency's largest detention camp, citing sworn accounts alleging that guards beat people who resisted removal to Mexico and that masked personnel allegedly beat others and ordered them to cross the southern border. The motion for a preliminary injunction, filed Thursday in federal court in El Paso, Texas, concerns Camp East Montana, a sprawling immigration detention facility at Fort Bliss. The request is backed by declarations from 43 people, including current or former detainees and relatives or friends of those who died, 29 medical records, four government oversight reports and two expert declarations.
Plaintiffs argue the conditions amount to unconstitutional punishment under the Fifth Amendment. One Cuban detainee claimed that guards slammed his head against a wall repeatedly and crushed his testicles after he refused removal to Mexico. Another detainee alleged they were taken toward the southern border, told to “jump over into Mexico," and that masked personnel beat some who refused.
The allegations have not been established by a court. The preliminary-injunction motion presents the plaintiffs' evidence and arguments, and the judge has not ruled that the accusations are true. An ICE Office of Detention Oversight inspection found a 37.5 percent failure rate in February, including deficiencies involving use of force and restraints, security, sexual abuse and assault prevention, and tuberculosis protocols.
Despite that, the inspection gave the facility an "Acceptable/Adequate" rating, according to the filing. An unannounced follow-up inspection in May found that overall deficiencies had increased from 49 to 52, while "Priority Component Deficiencies" rose from three to 12, according to the motion. Eight were repeat deficiencies.
The report listed zero corrective actions, plaintiffs said. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has maintained that allegations concerning the conditions at Camp East Montana are "categorically false," a "smear campaign" and "fearmongering clickbait." Newsweek has contacted DHS and ICE for comment via email. Among the supporting evidence filed Thursday is a collection of declarations from detainees, many identified by pseudonyms.
"Isaac," a 43-year-old Cuban man, alleged guards confronted him in September 2025 after he refused removal to Mexico, returning with about 30 others. "Outside in the hallway, the guards started beating on me," Isaac said in his sworn declaration. He said guards slammed his head against a wall about 10 times, twisted his ankles and crushed his testicles, leaving him with severe pain that lasted about a month.
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