Detainees say they heard Cuban man being slammed to the ground before his death in ICE custody
In this June 25, 2018, file photo, an entrance to Fort Bliss is shown, in Fort Bliss, Texas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE)
(EL PASO, Texas) — Several detainees at a Texas immigration detention facility claim in sworn court declarations that they heard a Cuban immigrant, whose death was later ruled a homicide, pleading for medication shortly before hearing what sounded like guards slamming him to the ground.
Geraldo Lunas Campos died in ICE custody on Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
He is the third detainee to die at the detention center since it opened last year as a tent facility on the grounds of the Fort Bliss Army base outside El Paso.
In an autopsy report released last week, the El Paso County deputy medical examiner determined that Campos died from “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Attorneys for the Campos family filed an emergency petition last week to prevent alleged witnesses from being deported. The petition, which was granted by a federal judge, cites reports alleging that guards at the facility choked and asphyxiated Campos.
Some of those witnesses submitted sworn declarations this week alleging that they heard Campos ask guards for his asthma medication on the day he died.
“The guard then said, ‘Shut up or we’re going to make you faint,'” wrote Henry Bolano, a detainee, in English and Spanish. “The last thing I heard was Geraldo speak in a voice that sounded like he couldn’t breathe. He said, ‘Let go of me. You’re asphyxiating me.'”
“Then there was silence,” Bolano wrote.
Santo Jesus Flores, another detainee, said he heard a “struggle ensue” that sounded like “the slamming of a person’s body against the floor or the wall” after Campos asked for his medication.
“I heard Geraldo scream that he could not breathe,” Flores said. “I could hear them trying to revive him, but they could not keep him alive.”
A DHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News regarding the detainees’ sworn declarations.
According to DHS, Campos was detained in July during an immigration enforcement action in New York. He had prior convictions including sexual contact with a minor and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the DHS and court records.
In a statement released following his death, a DHS spokesperson said Campos was pronounced dead after “experiencing medical distress.”
“Lunas became disruptive while in line for medication and refused to return to his assigned dorm,” the statement said. “He was subsequently placed in segregation. While in segregation, staff observed him in distress and contacted on-site medical personnel for assistance.”
Luigi Mangione appears for a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 9, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Jury selection for Luigi Mangione’s federal trial will begin on Sept. 8, Judge Margaret Garnett said on Friday.
If the judge excludes the death penalty as a possible sentence, the trial will begin on Oct. 13. If the judge allows the case to proceed as a capital case, the trial will begin on Jan. 11, 2027.
Mangione is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. He was arrested days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.
Garnett is considering a defense request to take the death penalty off the table.
Fencing surrounds the perimeter of the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on January 20, 2022 in St Paul, Minnesota. Jury selection begins today in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis Police officers who are accused of violating George Floyds civil rights when he was killed in their custody on May 25, 2020. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — An exasperated and frustrated Department of Homeland Security attorney declared in a stunning moment in court that her job “sucks,” the existing legal process “sucks,” and that she sometimes wishes that the judge would hold her in contempt so she “can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”
Julie Le, who according to public records is a Department of Homeland Security attorney that had been detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s office, was called to testify Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., about why the government has been nonresponsive to judicial orders regarding people in ICE detention.
“What do you want me to do? The system sucks,” Le told Judge Jerry Blackwell, according to a court transcript obtained by ABC News. “This job sucks. And I am trying [with] every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need.”
Blackwell said the administration has routinely not been following court mandates, ignoring multiple orders for detainees to be released that has resulted in their continued detainment for days or even weeks.
“The overwhelming majority of the hundreds [of individuals] seen by this court have been found to be lawfully present as of now in the country,” said Blackwell. “In some instances, it is the continued detention of a person the Constitution does not permit the government to hold and who should have been left alone, that is, not arrested in the first place,” according to the transcript.
Operation Metro Surge has “generated a volume of arrests and detentions that has taxed existing systems, staffing, and coordination between DOJ and the DHS,” Blackwell acknowledged, but said that was no excuse for the government’s lack of response to court orders.
“The volume of cases and matters is not a justification for diluting constitutional rights and it never can be” said Blackwell. “It heightens the need for care. Having what you feel are too many detainees, too many cases, too many deadlines, and not enough infrastructure to keep up with it all is not a defense to continued detention. If anything, it ought to be a warning sign.”
Blackwell also questioned Le regarding why the Donald Trump administration should not be held in contempt for violating court orders.
“I am here as a bridge and a liaison between the one that [is] in jail, because if I walk out – sometimes I wish you would just hold me in contempt, Your Honor, so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep. I work day and night just because people are still in there,” Le said.
Le also told the judge that she had previously submitted her resignation from her DHS post, “but they couldn’t find a replacement. So I gave them a specific time … to get it done. If they don’t, then by all means, I’m going to walk out,” she said.
An official confirmed to ABC News that Le is no longer detailed to the U.S. attorney’s office. Le did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
Le further told Blackwell in court that it was like “pulling teeth” to get a response from ICE regarding judicial orders.
Le said she “stupidly” volunteered for the assignment with DHS because they were “overwhelmed and they need help” and that she has only been in the job for a month.
“When I started with the job, I have to be honest, we have no guidance on what we need to do,” Le told the court.
“You received no proper orientation or training on what you were supposed to do?” Blackwell asked.
“I have to say yes to that question,” Le responded.
Blackwell also questioned Le about concerns he had regarding ICE detainees who were ordered released but that had already been moved to facilities in El Paso or New Mexico, and people who had been unlawfully detained but were told they had to wear an ankle monitor as a condition of their release, “which the court didn’t order because the person was unlawfully detained in the first place.”
“I share the same concern with you, your honor,” Le responded. “I am not white, as you can see. And my family’s at risk as any other people that might get picked up, too, so I share the same concern, and I took that concern to heart.”
“Fixing a system, a broken system,” Le said. “I don’t have a magic button to do it. I don’t have the power or the voice to do it.”
Judge Blackwell began the hearing with a stern admonition that “a court order is not advisory, and it is not conditional,” and “it is not something that any agency can treat as optional while it decides how or whether to comply with the court order.”
“Detention without lawful authority is not just a technical defect, it is a constitutional injury that unfairly falls on the heads of those who have done nothing wrong to justify it. The individuals affected are people. The overwhelming majority of the hundreds seen by this court have been found to be lawfully present as of now in the country. They live in their communities. Some are separated from their families,” Blackwell said.
“The DOJ, the DHS, and ICE are not above the law. They do wield extraordinary power, and that power has to exist within constitutional limits. When court orders are not followed, it’s not just the court’s authority that’s at issue. It is the rights of individuals in custody and the integrity of the constitutional system itself.”
Blackwell adjourned the hearing saying he would all that he heard under advisement.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and James Holt are seen after the swimming finals at swimming pool Het Hofbad during the Invictus Games on April 19, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands. Patrick Van Katwijk/Getty Images
Holt’s departure comes weeks after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the rebrand of the Archewell Foundation to Archewell Philanthropies.
Harry and Meghan’s longtime aide, who originally worked with Harry at Kensington Palace, and moved out to Los Angeles with the couple when they stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020, announced his departure from the couple’s foundation in a statement on Monday.
“Working with Prince Harry and Meghan has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Holt began.
He went on, “From my first project with Prince Harry eight years ago to improve mental health support for soldiers in the British military, to our recent work helping injured children in Gaza, he has consistently challenged me to think bigger about how we can make a difference.”
Holt added that when he first met Meghan, “I recognized a kindred spirit – someone who finds joy even in difficult moments and connects authentically with people regardless of circumstance.”
“Above everything else, the work we’ve done together to support families affected by online harm will remain the most meaningful of my professional life. These families are extraordinary, and they inspire me every day,” he continued.
He ended his note saying that after five years in LA, “It’s time for my family to return to London. When I pass the baton to the team leading Archewell Philanthropies in the coming months, I’ll do so with immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead.”
“I’ll miss my colleagues deeply, and I’m grateful to Harry and Meghan for everything they’ve done – for me, and for the countless people we’ve worked to support,” he said.
In response to Holt’s statement, Harry and Meghan shared a statement of their own and called Holt a “stellar support for us for nearly ten years.”
“His enthusiasm and talent in overseeing our philanthropic endeavours have been extraordinary,” they continued. “As James moves his young family back to the UK, we are proud that he will continue to guide various humanitarian trips for us overseas through Archewell Philanthropies.”
A spokesman to Harry and Meghan clarified that Holt will remain a senior philanthropic advisor to the couple and Archewell Philanthropies and support the couple’s humanitarian overseas trips in 2026.
Archewell Philanthropies is home to the charitable work of Harry and Meghan. The couple shared why they were switching the name of their foundation in a statement on their website.
“After five beautiful years, the Archewell Foundation is becoming Archewell Philanthropies,” according to the Archewell Philanthropies website. “This charitable entity allows the couple and their children to expand upon their global philanthropic endeavors as a family.”
Harry and Meghan announced their nonprofit venture in April 2020 after completing their final engagements as working members of the royal family and relocating to LA.
