On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban national with a history of criminal convictions, died while in the custody of ICE at Camp East Montana, Texas, as reported by ICE's Newsroom. Campos, 55, experienced medical distress leading to his death at 10:16 p.m., with the cause currently under investigation.
That day, Campos had become disruptive during medication distribution and refused to comply with directives to return to his dorm, resulting in his placement in segregation, where staff noticed him in distress and called for medical assistance. Despite their efforts and those of on-site medical personnel who initiated emergency procedures and summoned EMS, he was declared deceased by responding emergency services. Campos was initially taken into ICE custody following a targeted operation in Rochester, New York, on July 14, 2025, after entering the United States in 1996. Since then, he was charged with and found guilty of multiple offenses, which include weapon possession, larceny, weapon possession during a robbery, sexual misconduct with a child, reckless driving, and controlled substance-related crimes.
An immigration judge had issued a removal order for Campos back on March 1, 2005. Still, due to complications in obtaining travel documents, his removal from the U.S. did not proceed, leading to his subsequent transfer to Camp East Montana on September 6, 2025. ICE's commitment to public transparency in incidents of in-custody deaths is evident through immediate notifications to Congress, stakeholders, and the media, alongside posting pertinent details on its public website, as stipulated by regulations outlined in the DHS Appropriations Act of 2018.
