ACLU Comment on New Trump Asylum Restrictions

EL PASO, Texas – Legal organizations filed a motion for preliminary injunction demanding ICE provide adequate healthcare and improve conditions for people detained at Camp East Montana, the nation’s largest immigration detention facility located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The motion comes as ICE is on track to have its deadliest fiscal year on record, as deaths in detention have nearly doubled since last fall, including three deaths at Camp East Montana alone. The motion, which was supported by more than 40 declarations from people currently or formerly detained at Camp East Montana, loved ones of people who have died, and correctional and medical experts, describes the government's systemic failure to provide adequate medical care and humane living conditions. The conditions reported include medical neglect, unsanitary and unsafe conditions, confinement to windowless tents for 23 to 24 hours a day, barriers to legal counsel, and such little food that people experience substantial weight loss and other serious medical conditions. People detained at the facility also describe being physically beaten by guards and confined in extreme isolation as punishment for seeking help. “The conditions reported in those declarations shock the conscience,” Dean Williams, a former state prison director who evaluated the conditions in Camp East Montana, wrote in support of the motion. “People describe degrading, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions, abuse by guards, and extreme restrictions and harsh treatment far beyond those of the most secure prisons I have overseen.” In May of 2026, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Farella Braun + Martel LLP filed their lawsuit against ICE after the federal government began detaining thousands of people in a tent encampment on the Fort Bliss military base in the El Paso desert. The facility has repeatedly come under fire since its opening in August 2025 following rampant reports of abusive, inhumane, and deadly conditions. Quotes from named plaintiffs in the lawsuit are as follows: “Urgent protection is desperately needed at Camp East Montana,” said named plaintiff Gerald Akari Angye. “Today, people are still being detained in this windowless camp with inadequate food, water, medicine, and recreation. People with health issues do not receive the care they need. This case remains important to me because I am a voice for those harmed by this regime. I will never be the same after the violence I experienced by guards at Camp East Montana. Many others are still being held in those horrible conditions. The United States preaches democracy and human rights, but it is separating families and torturing people who are seeking safety. The world is watching. The inhumane conditions at Camp East Montana seem to be getting worse. No one of good conscience can support what is happening there. I plead with the court to give relief to people held in the horrible Camp East Montana.” “It’s hard for outside observers to understand what people go through at Camp East Montana,” said named plaintiff Navdeep. “That’s why we are sharing our stories. I don’t want people to continue suffering and experiencing the terrible conditions I experienced there. We need the court to take action to immediately improve conditions at Camp East Montana and to prevent additional suffering.” “Camp East Montana is not built to accommodate the basic needs of people,” said named plaintiff ZOR. “If the court fails to intervene, things may get even worse. If nothing is done, I worry it will be a signal that it is okay that for the law to continue being ignored at Camp East Montana. I believe the conditions at Camp East Montana are meant to break people down emotionally and to punish them so they become desperate to leave. It is unbearable to be mistreated every day and trapped in a dirty room with up to 72 people. Many of us are only able to endure it because of the strength we get from the thought of our families.” Additional quotes from co-counsel are as follows: “We cannot wait any longer,” said Rita Lomio, Senior Counsel at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “ICE and the Department of Defense have long known of the cruel and deadly conditions at the tent encampment on the Fort Bliss military base. They have demonstrated time and again that they cannot or will not act to end the abuse. Former prison and jail directors have found that conditions at Camp East Montana are unprecedented and make all who live and work at the encampment unsafe. While litigation continues, a preliminary injunction is needed to end the most egregious abuses before more people needlessly suffer and die.” "The need for court-ordered relief is urgent," said Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “For the past year, the government has disappeared thousands of people into its desert camp that has been the site of beatings by guards, death, disease, and hunger. The situation has continued to deteriorate. People held inside tents describe the denial of desperately needed medical care, environmental hazards, and filthy conditions. These unbearable conditions violate U.S. law and erode the moral fabric of our country. A preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent additional death and abuses at the largest immigration detention camp in the country. All of us, no matter where we were born, are created equal and are entitled to dignity that is being systematically denied at this horrific tent camp.” “State-sanctioned violence is occurring in and outside of facilities like Camp East Montana, and the blatant disregard for human life and access to basic health care should shock the conscience of every American,” said Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “If we, as a society, say nothing and go along with the notion that certain lives matter less than others, the government’s abuse and neglect will continue to be normalized. Our preliminary injunction is an effort to stop ICE, and the harm that has seeped into the walls of their detention facilities, from going unchecked.” “Detention does not strip individuals of their fundamental rights to safety, dignity, and necessary medical care,” said Cynthia Castillo, partner at Farella Braun + Martel LLP. “The record in this case shows deeply troubling medical neglect, dangerous living conditions, and mistreatment that demand immediate action. A preliminary injunction is essential to prevent further irreparable harm and to ensure that individuals detained at Camp East Montana are treated humanely while their legal claims are heard.” More information on the lawsuit is available here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/akari-angye-et-al-v-ice

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