Man in ICE Custody’s Death Is Likely a Homicide by Agents: Report

The death of a man who was in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas, has been classified as a homicide caused by ICE agents, according to a new report.

According to an article published by the Washington Post on Thursday, Jan. 15, the daughter of detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, reportedly shared audio with the outlet in which an employee of El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner said a doctor there “is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compression.”

As they await results of a toxicology report, the staffer allegedly said on the recording, “our doctor is believing that we’re going to be listing the manner of death as homicide,” per the outlet.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tells PEOPLE, “On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator, attempted to take his own life while he was detained at the Camp East Montana detention facility. The security staff immediately intervened to save his life.”

Campos, who was from Cuba, is alleged to have “violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life,” and as a result, “stopped breathing and lost consciousness.”

PEOPLE did not immediately receive a response from El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner.

“Medical staff was immediately called and responded. After repeated attempts to resuscitate him, EMTs declared him deceased on the scene,” the DHS spokesperson tells PEOPLE. “ICE takes seriously the health and safety of all those detained in our custody. This is still an active investigation, and more details are forthcoming. ICE investigates the circumstances of all deaths in custody.”

The spokesperson told PEOPLE that the victim had been in the United States since 1996, and had been charged with and convicted of multiple crimes, including felonies, since then. 

Campos was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed from the U.S. March 1, 2005, but the request was not fulfilled because the government could not obtain travel documents at the time.

On Sept. 6, 2025 he was transferred to ICE custody at Camp East Montana, where he remained until his death, according to the statement.

In a press release shared by ICE on Jan. 9, the organization claimed that leading up to his death, Campos “became disruptive while in line for medication and refused to return to his assigned dorm,” and was segregated from the other detainees.

While in segregation, staff allegedly observed that he was in distress.

Santos Jesus Flores, who was in the same unit as Campos, told the Post he saw at least five guards struggling with Campos after the 55-year-old told them he did not have his medicine.

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He claimed to also have seen Campos being choked, repeatedly saying, “No puedo respirar” — Spanish for “I can’t breathe,” the Post reported.

“After that, we don’t hear his voice anymore and that’s it,” Flores said.