The El Paso County Medical Examiner officially ruled homicide as the cause of death of a migrant who died at an ICE detention center in El Paso.
Geraldo Lunas Campos‘ cause of death was “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression,” stated the autopsy report released by the medical examiner on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
“Based on the investigative and examination findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death is asphyxia due to neck and torso compression,” the report states. “The manner of death is homicide.”
Geraldo Lunas Campos
Lunas Campos, 55, died Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana, an ICE detention center in East El Paso. The detention center is located on Fort Bliss property. He had been held at the facility for nearly four months.
Camp East Montana is the the largest ICE detention center in the U.S. It is projected to hold 5,000 detainees for deportation. The facility has grown to a capacity of 3,250 people as of Dec. 19.
The site continues to generate reports of inhumane conditions and human rights violations since it opened in August.
ICE officials in a Jan. 9 news release claimed Lunas Campos became “disruptive” while in line for medication. He was placed in segregation where “staff observed him in distress and contacted on-site medical personnel for assistance,” the release said.
The autopsy report states Lunas Campos became “unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement.”
He had “scattered superficial abrasions” all over his body, the report states.
The medical examiner also found a hemorrhage involving the strap muscles and connective tissues of the neck. He also had “petechial hemorrhages” in the eyelids and in the front and side of his neck. He also suffered fractured ribs.
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Lunas Campos’ medical history included suffering from bipolar disorder and anxiety, the report states. The examiner wrote that a toxicology report found that Lunas Campos had trazodone, an antidepressant, and hydroxyzine, an antihistamine, in his system.
While the autopsy report states the cause of death is homicide, it is not a legal finding and does not mean criminal charges will be filed against those involved in the incident.
ICE officials said the death was under investigation but have not commented further. The FBI officials said they cannot confirm nor deny if an investigation is underway because of U.S. Department of Justice policy. Typically, the FBI investigates homicides at federal facilities and on federal property.
ICE response to reports of homicide ruling
The Washington Post first reported that the El Paso medical examiner was going to rule the death a likely homicide in a Jan. 15 report.
ICE officials responded to the report in a social media post on Jan. 16, claiming that Lunas Campos was attempting to commit suicide and “violently resisted the security staff.”
“On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator, attempted to take his own life while he was detained at the Camp East Montana detention facility,” the post said. “The security staff immediately intervened to save his life. Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life.”
The post claims Lunas Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness during the struggle. Medical staff made “repeated attempts to resuscitate him” but he was pronounced dead at the detention center.
More: Second migrant death reported at Camp East Montana ICE facility
“ICE takes seriously the health and safety of all those detained in our custody,” the post said. “This is still an active investigation, and more details are forthcoming. ICE investigates the circumstances of all deaths in custody.”
Lunas Campos was arrested by immigration authorities on July 14 “during a planned enforcement operation in Rochester, New York,” ICE officials said. He was moved to El Paso on Sept. 6.
They alleged Lunas Campos had a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for criminal possession of a weapon, sexual contact with a child under 11, reckless driving, possession of a controlled substance and sale of a controlled substance.
Deaths at El Paso ICE center
Lunas Campos was the second migrant to die at the El Paso detention center. There have been at least three deaths at the center since it opened in August.
The latest death was 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz, a Nicaraguan immigrant, on Jan. 14. ICE announced his death on Sunday, Jan 18. Diaz “died of a presumed suicide,” ICE officials said in a news release.
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The first death at the detention center was 48-year-old Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, a Guatemala immigrant. He was taken to Hospitals of Providence East on Nov. 16 and died on Dec. 3. He died because of liver and kidney failure, ICE officials said in a news release.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Migrants death at El Paso ICE center ruled a homicide