EL PASO, Texas — A third migrant has died at an El Paso detention camp as an investigation into another immigrant’s death earlier this month has brought national attention to the facility.

What You Need To Know

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz died in ICE custody on Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention center at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso

The official cause of death is under investigation, but ICE said, “he died of a presumed suicide”

This latest death comes after another migrant died at Camp East Montana on Jan. 3. ICE officials reported on Jan. 9 that 55-year-old Geraldo Lunas Campos died after experiencing “medical distress,” but recent reporting from The Washington Post and the Associated Press found that the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner was likely to classify Lunas Campos’ death a homicide

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who has been a vocal critic of the facility, reiterated her calls for Camp East Montana to be shut down

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz died in ICE custody on Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention center at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso.

According to ICE, “contract security staff” found Diaz unresponsive in his room, and they notified medical staff on site at around 3:35 p.m. The medical team arrived at 3:45 p.m., and Diaz was pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m.

The official cause of death is under investigation, but ICE said, “he died of a presumed suicide.”

Diaz was arrested by ICE officers on Jan. 6 in Minneapolis for an immigration violation. ICE records claim Diaz illegally entered the U.S. on March 26, 2024, and an immigration judge ordered his removal on Aug. 26, 2025.

“On Jan. 12, ICE processed him as a final order of removal and detained him pending removal from the United States,” ICE said in a news release.

This latest death comes after another migrant died at Camp East Montana on Jan. 3. ICE officials reported on Jan. 9 that 55-year-old Geraldo Lunas Campos died after experiencing “medical distress,” but recent reporting from The Washington Post and the Associated Press found that the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner was likely to classify Lunas Campos’ death a homicide.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement after the reports claiming that Lunas Campos was attempting to “take his life” and during the struggle with officers “stopped breathing and lost consciousness.”

Both The Washington Post and the Associated Press interviewed an eyewitness at the facility, who claims that Lunas Campos died after he was handcuffed, tackled by guards and placed in a chokehold until he lost consciousness.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who has been a vocal critic of the facility, reiterated her calls for Camp East Montana to be shut down.

“Two deaths in one month means conditions are worsening,” she said in a post on X. “Camp East Montana must be shutdown immediately.”

Escobar also accused the facility of focusing on “profits instead of meeting basic standards.”

Today, I was notified of yet another death at Camp East Montana.

This is the 3rd person who has died in the $1.24 billion privately-run facility that focuses on profits instead of meeting basic standards. https://t.co/pZuXwfNS1T

— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) January 18, 2026

Escobar has previously said that she was concerned that there weren’t enough trained ICE personnel at the facility. She toured the $1.24 billion facility multiple times last year that, as of December, houses over 3,000 migrants. It’s the largest facility of its kind in the U.S., and it has been open since August.