Serious medical and mental health emergencies have been routine at the nation’s largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility since its opening, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
Data and recordings from more than a hundred 911 calls at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, along with interviews and court filings, offer a disturbing portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress.
Current and former detainees describe a camp where about 3,000 people have lived per day in loud and unsanitary quarters. They say detainees struggle to obtain health care as disease spreads, lose weight because of a lack of food, and fear security guards known to use force to put down disturbances.
They don’t allow cameras anywhere near these places. Heck, they will tell the inmates in a normal jail that if you even attempt to talk to inspectors you’ll get thrown in the hole. They ensure that the stuff that should be reported, never gets noticed or talked about.