A 55-year-old legal permanent resident from Trinidad and Tobago is seeking $10 million from the federal government, alleging that months in Texas immigration detention left him repeatedly hospitalized, medically neglected and unable to get food that met his religious and health needs. The claim, filed Thursday, is tied to a sweeping ACLU campaign targeting detention conditions across the country. It puts the South Texas detention system near San Antonio at the center of a much larger fight over how ICE cares for people in its custody.
The tort claim filed for Elton Purvis by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas is one of more than 50 claims brought across 17 states and Washington, D.C., according to The Texas Tribune. The claims accuse immigration officials and contractors of failing to provide adequate medical care, food and other basic necessities to detained immigrants.
Purvis was detained by ICE on May 13, 2025, at Boston Logan International Airport while returning for two of his sons’ graduations, the claim says. He had Type 1 diabetes and malaria, and the filing alleges that agents ignored symptoms including fever, chills and heavy sweating for 12 days before taking him to a hospital in Harlingen.
After being moved through multiple facilities, Purvis spent most of seven months at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall. The claim says he was found unresponsive in his cell at least three times and was repeatedly taken for emergency treatment after dangerous blood-sugar crashes, including hospital visits in Harlingen, Pearsall and San Antonio.
The allegations also describe a daily struggle over food and water. Purvis said he followed a vegetarian diet for religious reasons and because of allergies, while also needing regular meals to manage his diabetes; the claim says staff served him meat, told him they could not meet both needs and left him relying on leftover cornbread from other detainees to try to avoid hypoglycemic shock.
The filing further alleges that the drinking water was dirty and that Purvis made his own filters, while guards often ignored his requests for medical help. He filed more than 100 grievances with ICE, according to The Texas Tribune, but was deported in December before the matter was resolved.
Texas Detention Deaths Add Pressure
The case arrives as scrutiny of ICE detention is intensifying nationwide. Human Rights Watch reported that 52 people died in ICE custody between January 20, 2025, and June 4, 2026, while a Texas Tribune analysis found at least 14 of those deaths occurred at Texas facilities since January 2025.
In May, the ACLU of Texas and partner organizations also sued over conditions at Camp East Montana, a sprawling ICE facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso. The ACLU of Texas said detained people described severe medical neglect, alleged violence by guards, inadequate food and other inhumane conditions at the facility.
What The Filing Could Mean
A tort claim is generally a step that can precede a federal lawsuit, but the allegations in Purvis’ filing have not been adjudicated. He is seeking $10 million, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, which declined to comment while litigation is pending.
