A former state corrections chief has warned that conditions at the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility are "far beyond" those in maximum-security prisons, as attorneys seek court-ordered reforms and independent oversight following three detainee deaths.
Dean Williams, who previously led prison systems in Alaska and Colorado, described Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, as "a facility in crisis," according to testimony cited by The Guardian.
In an October 15 filing, attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Leon Schydlower to order the Trump administration to improve medical care and living conditions at the facility and appoint independent monitors to oversee compliance with federal detention standards. Williams alleged that government officials had responded to documented problems through concealment and denial rather than corrective action.
"In the face of compelling government reports, dozens of sworn declarations describing inhumane and unlawful conditions, observations by members of Congress, and a death that was ruled a homicide by an independent Medical Examiner, government officials have issued flat denials and exhibited a distinct lack of urgency," he wrote.
Dr. Jeffrey Keller, a former president of the American College of Correctional Physicians, also submitted testimony describing a healthcare system unable to adequately treat serious medical conditions. "As a result, all people at Camp East Montana are at serious risk of harm, up to and including death," Keller said.
Three detainees have died at the facility since it opened in August 2025, including one whose death was ruled a homicide involving facility staff.
In an affidavit reported by El Paso Matters, Albina Cristobal described her father, Francisco Gaspar Cristobal Andres, complaining of severe abdominal pain and receiving inadequate treatment before his death on December 3, 2025.
She said a hospital physician told her detention staff "waited until the last minute to take him to the hospital." He arrived in septic shock, according to her account.
The $1.24 billion facility, located on the Fort Bliss military base, was designed to hold 5,000 detainees but averaged approximately 2,000 in early July. The injunction request builds on a lawsuit filed in May alleging abuse, medical neglect and violations of detention standards.
The Department of Homeland Security has previously denied allegations of inhumane conditions. The government had not responded to the latest request, and the judge had not ruled when El Paso Matters published its report.
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