A Nicaraguan immigrant arrested by ICE in Minneapolis has become the third detainee to die at Camp East Montana in El Paso while facing deportation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced.
Immigration: Cuban immigrant’s death at Camp East Montana likely ‘homicide’
Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, who is originally from Nicaragua, was being held at the sprawling detention camp in El Paso. He was pronounced dead on Wednesday, Jan. 14, ICE said in a report published on Sunday, Jan 18. He was found dead of a presumed suicide.
He had received his final removal order on Jan. 12.
Diaz was detained on Jan. 6 by ICE agents during operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has seen a surge of thousands of immigration agents as part of President Donald Trump’s growing crackdown on immigration. The operation in Minnesota has been plagued by controversy, including the Jan. 8 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.
The entrance to Trump administration’s sprawling Camp East Montana ICE detention center in El Paso, Texas on Jan. 7, 2026.
More: Exclusive: 911 calls from migrant detention center highlight dire conditions
Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés was the first detainee held at the sprawling immigration detention facility to die. The 48-year-old man from Guatemala was taken to Hospitals of Providence East on Nov. 16 and would later die on Dec. 3.
A second detainee, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old immigrant from Cuba, had died on Jan. 3. His death is being considered a likely homicide.
Camp East Montana opened in August
Camp East Montana began receiving detainees in August 2025. The massive detention facility built on Fort Bliss land held 3,080 detainees as of Dec. 19.
Civil rights advocates and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, have raised concerns about conditions in the facility.
The El Paso Times reported nearly 90 emergency 911 health calls coming from the facility in the first 15 weeks of operation, the Washington Post reported multiple violations during construction and the ACLU reported acts of physical violence against detainees and attempts to force detainees to self-deport.
At least six migrants have died across the U.S. in immigration detention facilities since Jan. 1.
More: Exclusive: She survived ICE custody; her husband died during detention
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Third immigrant dies at ICE Camp East Montana in El Paso