There are growing concerns about conditions at the largest detention center in the country. Three people have died in custody since December (or the last six weeks). Lawmakers and human rights organizations are demanding answers about allegations of abuse, medical neglect and unsanitary conditions at the massive detention camp in El Paso. DHS says detainees are getting proper care and treated humanely.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There is growing concern about conditions at the largest immigration detention center in the United States.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And here’s why. Three people have died in custody in the last six weeks at a tent camp, which is run by a private contractor. The most recent death happened this past week at the camp located at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
MARTIN: Angela Kocherga with member station KTEP is with us now with the latest. Good morning, Angela.
ANGELA KOCHERGA, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: Could you just start with some background on this facility? How big is it, and who’s sent there?
KOCHERGA: Yeah. Well, the camp has the capacity to hold 5,000 people, and it can be expanded. And at the end of last year, the average daily population was about 2,800 people. Advocates and lawyers say that some immigrants picked up in Minneapolis recently are being sent to the tent facility, but people from all over the country are there. The facility is considered a hub for ICE because it’s so large and there’s a nearby airport for deportation flights.
MARTIN: So tell us about the people who have died at the facility. What do we know about them?
KOCHERGA: Well, Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz was found dead last Wednesday. He had been in custody since January 6, when ICE fed agents, quote, “encountered” him in Minneapolis and determined the Nicaraguan man was in the country illegally. Now, according to ICE, staff at the detention camp here in El Paso found Diaz unconscious and called for emergency medical help. ICE says the death is a presumed suicide. And earlier this month, ICE reported a 55-year-old man named Geraldo Lunas Campos tried to take his own life. And staff intervened to save him, but he died. Both cases are under investigation. And the third death in custody happened in early December. That was 48-year-old Francisco Gaspar-Andres. He died after he was transported to a local hospital for a medical condition.
MARTIN: So the Department of Homeland Security oversees ICE. What does the department have to say about this?
KOCHERGA: In an emailed response yesterday to a question about medical care at the facility, DHS said it has a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care in custody. And that includes medical and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at a facility. DHS said there’s also access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.
MARTIN: And what about lawyers or other advocates for the detainees? What do they say about this?
KOCHERGA: Human rights advocates and multiple lawyers have lots of concerns. And they’ve documented cases of medical neglect, physical abuse and unsanitary conditions at the facility known as Camp East Montana, and all of those were included in a report by the ACLU. Marisa Limon Garza is the executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.
MARISA LIMON GARZA: We know from people that we speak with every day at Camp East Montana that they are being denied access to medical attention, whether that’s actual medicine or whether that’s actual access to a doctor or physician.
KOCHERGA: And El Paso’s congresswoman – Veronica Escobar, a Democrat – toured the facility when it opened in August, and she’s calling for it to shut down.
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VERONICA ESCOBAR: It has never adhered to basic or appropriate standards to ensure the safety and dignity of the human beings in custody.
KOCHERGA: Escobar is among 122 members of her party supporting legislation to create enhanced oversight for detention centers and phase out private contractors over three years.
MARTIN: That is Angela Kocherga in El Paso. Angela, thanks so much for your reporting.
KOCHERGA: Thank you, Michel.
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