Protesters opposing mass deportations by ICE hold signs during a demonstration held outside of Fort Bliss, the US Army base where a large new ICE detention facility is being built, in El Paso, Texas, August 17, 2025.
(Washington, DC) – People held in the immigration detention camp at the US Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas have experienced serious abuse, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a joint report released today. People detained at Camp East Montana have experienced indiscriminate beatings, life-threatening medical neglect, coercive removals to unfamiliar “third countries,” and, in some cases, experienced conditions of confinement that may amount to enforced disappearance.
The 84-page report, “‘You’re Only Getting Out Deported or Dead’: Abusive US Immigration Detention at Ft. Bliss,” documents conditions at the largest immigration detention facility in the United States. The detention camp has the capacity to hold up to 5,000 people and consists of five “soft-sided” tent-like structures that house detained people in penned enclosures. Inside, detainees said they were forced to live in filthy and cramped conditions with up to 72 people housed in each pod. Human Rights Watch found evidence of punitive immigration enforcement practices, including cruel, degrading, and inhumane detention conditions; excessive force by guards; failures to provide medical and mental health care; coercive deportation practices; and systemic barriers to legal representation.
July 15, 2026 “You’re Only Getting Out Deported or Dead”
Abusive US Immigration Detention at Ft. Bliss
Download the full report in English
“ICE’s Camp East Montana is a human rights disaster,” said Angélica César
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