Columbia man deported to Netherlands details poor conditions, abuse and homicide incidents at El Paso ICE facility
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia, Missouri, man who was deported to the Netherlands after more than four months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody says he endured overcrowded, unsanitary and inhumane conditions at the Camp East Montana detention facility in El Paso, Texas — a place he described as “the most horrific” he has ever seen.
Owen Ramsingh on Thursday posted on Facebook for the first time since returning to the Netherlands early Sunday morning. Ramsingh was a longtime green card holder who was detained in September after attempting to reenter the United States following a trip to visit family in the Netherlands. ICE cited drug convictions from Ramsingh’s youth as the reason for his detainment.
Ramsingh's social media post described the death of a 55-year-old man whom Ramsingh claimed was shackled, handcuffed and strangled by personnel from Akima Security, the private contractor operating the facility. Ramsingh claimed officials characterized the incident as a suicide in statements to the press and law enforcement.
“Akima security ran the facility and was very unprofessional. These security guys were making bets on us on committing suicide, they were using excessive force on detainees, they even killed a 55-year-old man,” Ramsingh wrote.
On Jan. 3, Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos was found dead in the camp, which El Paso County’s medical examiner ruled a homicide on Jan. 21.
Ramsingh told ABC 17 News in a message that it was the same incident that he described in his post, saying that Campos was attacked by Akima Security’s disturbance control team, who later tried to say it was a suicide.
According to the autopsy report ABC 17 News obtained from the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner, Lunas Campos “was witnessed to become unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement.” Emergency medical services were called and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The report found hemorrhaging in the neck muscles and connective tissues, as well as petechial hemorrhages in the eyelids and neck skin.
“Based on the investigative and examination findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death is asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The manner of death is homicide,” the medical examiner wrote.
Following the release of the autopsy report, El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson called for a “full, independent investigation” into Lunas Campos’ death.
ICE said Lunas Campos was arrested July 14 in Rochester, New York, and transferred to El Paso on Sept. 6. Officials claimed he had prior criminal convictions, including weapon possession, sexual contact with a child under 11, reckless driving and drug-related offenses.
The Camp East Montana facility has faced repeated allegations of inhumane conditions and inadequate oversight. ABC 17 News has reached out to Akima for comment regarding Ramsingh’s allegations and the medical examiner’s findings.
Lunas Campos’ death on Jan. 3 was one of at least three reported at the facility since it opened in August.
Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant, died Jan. 14. ICE said his death was a presumed suicide. Two detainees were reportedly prevented from being deported so they could be interviewed after seeing Diaz the day he died. It is unclear whether an autopsy has been completed.
The first reported death involved 48-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, who died Dec. 3 of liver and kidney failure, according to ICE.
Ramsingh alleged discrimination against English-speaking detainees from security, writing that about 90% of the facility’s security staff was Hispanic.
The Camp East Montana facility has a projected capacity of 5,000 detainees and held about 3,250 people as of Dec. 19, according to ICE.
Ramsingh wrote he spent four and a half months living in a 38-by-78-foot pod with 72 other detainees. The space included five toilets, six showers, two televisions, two cameras and five six-seat tables.
“These pods where we were detained were very filthy; full of bugs all over the showers and toilet and throughout the pod and facility,” Ramsingh wrote. “We were served 3 meals a day about 12oz each meal they were very small and we starved. There was no commissary or any access to any other foods it was just enough to survive we had to eat either in our beds or by the restrooms that smelled very bad. People blew their noses in the sinks spit on the floors all over the showers and bathrooms it was disgusting. Some people were taking showers with no shower shoes which lead to infections on their feet.”
He said recreation time was limited to a small outdoor area he described as resembling a “dog kennel,” surrounded by low barbed wire that detainees could easily come into contact with.
Sleep was difficult, he added, because of what he described as “screaming and hollering each and every night.”
Ramsingh also alleged inadequate medical care, saying he was sick for weeks without medication or treatment. He described shortages of basic supplies such as shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant, and said he had to hand-wash his clothes because the facility could not keep up with laundry demands.
