Washington/The death of Cuban migrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, on January 3 while he was in custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) in a detention center in Texas, could be classified as homicide. as revealed exclusively The Washington Post.
An employee of the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office told the deceased’s daughter that the preliminary cause stated in the report is asphyxia due to “compression of the neck and chest.” While awaiting the results of a toxicology report, the staff member said, in a recording provided by the woman to the Washington Post: “Our doctor thinks we are going to classify the manner of death as homicide.”
Six days after the death of Luna Campos, 55 years old and in ICE custody at Camp East Montana (ICE), the institution released a report in which it was stated that the migrant “behaved in a disruptive manner while waiting in line to receive his medications, without specifying what the drugs were, and refused to return to his assigned bedroom.”
Luna Campos was placed in isolation where he presented a “state of anguish.” According to the official version, medical services were unable to save his life, but there were no details about the causes of death.
According to the official version, medical services were unable to save his life, but there were no details about the causes of death.
The agency later explained that Lunas Campos had been moved to a segregated housing unit after displaying disruptive behavior, but did not offer further details about the use of force.
This Thursday, Washington Post reported a new official version. “Campos violently resisted security personnel and continued to try to take his own life,” said Tricia McLaughlin, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness. Medical personnel were immediately called and responded. After repeated attempts to resuscitate him, EMTs pronounced him deceased at the scene.”
McLaughlin declined to provide additional documentation and said there is an “active investigation.”
Last week, in the midst of controversy over the death, the authorities highlighted the criminal record of the deceased: sexual contact with a child (2003), possession of a weapon (1998 and 2002), petty theft (1999, 2005 and 2006), reckless driving (2006) and drug sales (2009); as well as the fact that he had a deportation order since 2025, which is why he was arrested in July.
The death of Lunas Campos occurs in a context of increasing deaths in immigration custody in the United States, amid the tightening of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
According to official data, at least 30 people died in ICE detention centers in 2025, the highest number in two decades, and four have died in the first nine days of 2026.
