EL PASO, TEXAS — Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant, died in U.S. immigration detention at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, after an altercation with guards regarding his medication. His three children subsequently filed a lawsuit against the companies operating the facility, alleging negligence and improper use of force and restraint.

A nearly 300-page unpublished medical examiner's investigative report details interactions between medical staff and Lunas Campos. The report indicates he had a history of mental illness and had been previously institutionalized in New York. Medical records show he complained at least eight times to staff about skipped or late doses of antipsychotic drugs. A Sept. 9 entry from medical staff stated that Lunas Campos "expressed frustration regarding his medication dosage."

In one instance, Lunas Campos banged his head against a wall after being unable to afford charges to speak with his children in New York. Staff notes recorded that they spoke with him about "not hitting his head against the wall bc he must take care of his brain and his eyes." In early October, guards observed him in his cell with one end of a bedsheet wrapped around his neck and the other tied to the door handle. A mental health provider then coaxed him to untie the bedsheet. Medical staff notes stated that he affirmed he was not suicidal, and dismissed the incident as a "suicidal gesture made to force security staff to release him" from isolation. They also stated that hospitalization was "not clinically indicated at this time based on assessed risk and protective factors."

Lunas Campos died in detention nearly three months after the October bedsheet incident, and a coroner ruled his death a homicide. The lawsuit filed by his children argued that his death resulted from negligence, including missed medication doses and improper use of force and restraint. Will Horowitz, an attorney representing Lunas Campos' children, said they "want people to know that he was a person like anyone else and that he didn't need to die." Horowitz added, "It's civil detention. They're not in detention because they've committed a crime."

Department of Homeland Security officials initially minimized the incident leading to Lunas Campos' death by pointing to his criminal history. A DHS spokesperson said guards had used force to keep him from killing himself. Lunas Campos was sentenced to a year in jail following a 2003 conviction for sexual contact with a child under the age of 11. He was also convicted in 2009 of attempting to sell a controlled substance, resulting in a sentence of five years in prison and three years of supervision. A DHS report issued after his death contended that he was monitored for suicidal ideation and stated he received regular medical and psychiatric evaluations, with staff adjusting his medication as needed.