Liberal media spins ‘homicide’ narrative after ICE detainee death — but DHS sets the record straight

A detainee died after attempting to take his own life while in federal immigration custody at a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, according to the Department of Homeland Security. But that was not what the Washington Post and other liberal outlets originally reported.

On Thursday evening, WaPo shared an article on social media, reporting that a local medical examiner might soon classify the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at the Camp East Montana facility on January 3 as a “homicide” and that another detainee had witnessed the man being “choked to death by guards.”

During the intervention, Campos ‘violently resisted’ staff and continued trying to harm himself, the DHS said.

The DHS offered a different version of events.

The DHS described Campos as a criminal illegal alien and a convicted child sex predator. Agency officials said detention security staff immediately intervened when Campos attempted suicide.

During the intervention, Campos “violently resisted” staff and continued trying to harm himself, the DHS said. In the ensuing struggle, Campos “stopped breathing and lost consciousness.” Medical personnel were called to the scene and attempted resuscitation before emergency medical technicians pronounced him dead at the facility.

ICE said it takes the health and safety of all detainees seriously and that the incident remains under active investigation, adding that more details “are forthcoming.”

Blaze News reached out to the Washington Post for comment.

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ICE CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

According to the DHS, Campos was arrested by immigration authorities July 14, 2025, during a planned enforcement operation in Rochester, New York.

The DHS said he entered the United States in 1996 and has since been convicted of multiple felonies such as sexual contact with a child under 11, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless driving, possession of a controlled substance, and sale of a controlled substance.

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Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

An immigration judge ordered Campos removed from the United States on March 1, 2005. The DHS said he was not removed at that time because the government was unable to obtain the necessary travel documents. ICE later transferred him to the Camp East Montana detention facility on Sept. 6, 2025.

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