Did a man die in ice custody due to being choked?
Executive summary
Available reporting indicates that Geraldo Lunas Campos — a 55-year-old detainee at Camp East Montana in El Paso — died on Jan. 3 while in ICE custody and that at least one fellow detainee alleges he was choked to death by guards; local medical examiners are reported to be likely to classify the death as a homicide, while ICE and DHS have said the man was found in distress and that the matter is under investigation [1] [2] [3]. The record is unsettled: eyewitness allegation, preliminary medical examiner reporting and government statements exist, but criminal findings or final official determinations have not been published in the sources provided [2] [1] [3].
1. A death in a tent camp and competing official narratives
Geraldo Lunas Campos was pronounced dead on Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana, an ICE tent facility at Fort Bliss where he had been detained, according to multiple outlets summarizing ICE notices and reporting on the incident [1] [4]. ICE’s initial account described him being placed in segregation after disruptive behavior while waiting for medication and said staff observed him in distress and called on-site medical personnel before he was pronounced dead [1] [5]. DHS spokespeople have reiterated that the death is subject to an active investigation and that emergency responders attempted resuscitation, per reporting that quotes agency statements [3].
2. Witness testimony: ‘No puedo respirar’ and an allegation of choking
A fellow detainee, quoted by The Washington Post and other outlets, says he witnessed guards choke Campos and reported hearing Campos say “No puedo respirar” repeatedly before his voice stopped — an allegation that anchors the claim that choking, not self-harm, caused the death [2] [3]. Advocacy groups and commentators have amplified that eyewitness account and used it to argue for accountability, noting the broader context of rising deaths in ICE custody [6] [7].
3. Medical examiner’s likely homicide classification — what that means and does not mean
Reporting says the local medical examiner’s office is likely to classify Campos’s death as a homicide, a term coroners use to indicate death caused by another person, which can trigger criminal and administrative inquiries [2] [8]. A homicide classification by a medical examiner is a medical-legal finding about manner of death; it is not itself a criminal conviction and still requires law-enforcement investigation to determine culpability and possible charges [2].
4. Pattern and context: a surge of deaths in ICE custody
Campos’s death comes amid an uptick in in-custody fatalities: 2025 was reported as ICE’s deadliest year in two decades with roughly 30–32 deaths, and early January 2026 included multiple detainee deaths, amplifying scrutiny of ICE policies, detention conditions and healthcare practices [9] [10] [11]. Critics and advocacy groups use that context to argue the system is failing detainees; ICE points to its detainee-death reporting policies and says it investigates all deaths [5] [10].
5. Evidence gap and investigative status: why a definitive answer is not yet possible
Sources establish a credible eyewitness allegation and a likely medical-examiner homicide determination, and they record ICE/DHS statements that the death is under investigation and that staff responded to a detainee in distress [2] [3] [1]. None of the provided reports, however, include a completed criminal investigation, indictments, or a final, publicly released autopsy report conclusively attributing cause of death to asphyxia from choking by guards; therefore it is not yet possible, based on the material provided, to state definitively that the man died due to being choked by ICE personnel [2] [1] [3].
6. Accountability, politics and the stakes of reporting
The story has immediate political consequences: advocacy groups and some lawmakers call for prosecutions and broader reform, while officials emphasize procedures and ongoing probes; reporting notes partisan dimensions to coverage and responses, and some outlets editorialize strongly about systemic failures [6] [12]. The existing public record from mainstream outlets shows a serious allegation corroborated by an eyewitness and a medical-legal signal pointing toward homicide, but it stops short of a judicial finding that would close the evidentiary loop [2] [8] [3].