Washington– A Cuban immigrant who was being held in solitary confinement at an immigration detention center in Texas died after guards grabbed him and stopped breathing, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday, which ruled the death a homicide.
Geraldo Lunas Campos died on January 3 after an altercation with guards. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the 55-year-old father of four was attempting to commit suicide and staff tried to save him.
But watch He told the Associated Press Last week, Lunas Campos was handcuffed while at least five guards grabbed him, one of whom put his arm around his neck and squeezed him until he lost consciousness.
His death was one of at least three reported in just over a month at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility in the desert on the grounds of Fort Bliss, a military base.
An autopsy report from the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Lunas Campos’ body showed signs of a struggle, including abrasions to his chest and knees. He also suffered bleeding in his neck. Deputy Coroner Dr. Adam Gonzalez. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to compression of the neck and torso.
Witnesses saw Lunas Campos “unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement,” the report said. She did not clarify the details of what happened during the struggle, but indicated that there were injuries to his neck, head, and torso due to physical restraint. The report also noted the presence of petechial hemorrhages — small spots of blood from burst capillaries that can be associated with severe stress or injury — in the eyelids and skin of the neck.
Dr. Victor Weeden, a forensic pathologist who reviewed the autopsy report for the AP, said the presence of petechiae in the eyes supports the conclusion that suffocation was the cause of death. He added that these injuries indicate the presence of pressure on the body and are often associated with such deaths.
He said the bruises on Lunas-Campos’ body may reflect physical restraint, and the neck injuries were consistent with a hand or knee on the neck.
The autopsy also found antidepressant and antihistamine medications, adding that Lunas Campos had a history of bipolar disorder and anxiety. He did not mention that he attempted suicide.
ICE’s initial account of the death, which included no mention of an altercation with guards, said Lunas Campos became disruptive and was moved by staff to a cell block where detainees are kept away from others.
“While he was isolated, staff noticed him in distress and contacted on-site medical personnel for assistance,” the agency said in its January 9 statement. “Medical personnel responded, initiated life-saving procedures, and requested emergency medical services.”
Lunas Campos was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.
Last Thursday, after Lunas Campos’ family first told Campos that the death was likely a homicide, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin revised the government’s account, saying he had attempted suicide and guards had tried to help him.
“Campos violently resisted security personnel and continued to attempt suicide,” she said. “During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness.”
After the final autopsy report was released on Wednesday, McLaughlin issued a statement asserting that Lunas Campos was a “criminal illegal alien convicted of child sexual abuse.”
New York court records show Lunas Campos was convicted in 2003 of having sexual intercourse with a person younger than 11, a felony for which he was sentenced to a year in prison and placed on the state’s sex offender registry. Lunas Campos was also sentenced to five years in prison and three years of probation in 2009 after being convicted of attempted sale of a controlled substance, according to New York corrections records. He completed his sentence in January 2017.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes very seriously the health and safety of all of our detainees,” McLaughlin said Wednesday, adding that the agency is investigating the death. DHS did not respond to questions about whether any outside law enforcement agency was also investigating.
The Associated Press reported in August that Contract worth $1.2 billion The project to build and operate Camp East Montana, expected to become the largest detention facility in the United States, has been awarded to a private contractor headquartered in a single-family home in Richmond, Virginia. Acquisition Logistics LLC had no prior experience managing a correctional facility and had subcontracted to other companies to assist in operating the camp.
It was not immediately clear whether the guards present at Lunas Campos’ death were government employees or employees of a private contractor.
The final determination of homicide by the medical examiner is usually decisive in determining whether any guards bear criminal or civil liability. The fact that Lunas Campos died on a military base could limit the legal jurisdiction of state and local officials to investigate.
Lunas Campos was among the first detainees sent to the Montana East camp, arriving in September after being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Rochester, New York, where he lived for more than two decades. He was legally admitted to the United States in 1996, as part of a wave of Cuban immigrants seeking to reach Florida by boat.
He was arrested in July as part of a planned immigration enforcement operation over felony convictions that made him eligible for deportation, ICE said.
In addition to Lunas Campos, ICE announced that on December 3, a Guatemalan migrant who was being held at the East Montana camp died after being transferred to an El Paso hospital for care. While the cause of death is still pending, the agency said it is suspected that Francisco Gaspar Andres, 48, died of liver and kidney failure.
Sunday, Ice announced Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant, died at the East Montana camp on January 14 of a “presumed suicide.” The agency said Diaz was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month during Immigration campaign in Minneapolis.
Unlike the previous two deaths, Diaz’s body was not sent to the El Paso County Medical Examiner. An autopsy on Diaz’s body is being performed at the Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, McLaughlin said Wednesday. DHS did not respond again to questions about whether any agency other than ICE would investigate the death.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd M. Lyons to update Congress on the recent deaths.
“DHS must preserve all evidence — including halting its efforts to deport witnesses,” Escobar said Wednesday. “I reiterate my call to close Camp East Montana and terminate the contract with the company that runs it.”
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Foley reported from Iowa City.