Civil rights organisations in the United States have initiated legal action against the country’s largest immigration detention facility, Camp East Montana, located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Watch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project, represents four detainees who allege severe mistreatment and human rights abuses.

Since the camp opened under former President Donald Trump’s mass deportation strategy, three detainees have died, including one ruled a homicide after being beaten during a medical crisis.

According to the lawsuit, detainees are held in windowless enclosures, subjected to physical abuse, denied proper medical and mental healthcare, and exposed to contagious diseases such as measles and tuberculosis.Inspectors previously reported 49 violations of federal detention standards, including improper use of force and inadequate medical care.Plaintiffs reported personal experiences of violence and coercion, including being beaten to sign deportation documents.

The lawsuit seeks to improve conditions for the more than 2,700 people detained at the facility and ensure that such inhumane treatment does not continue.

This action comes amid a broader national discussion on the treatment of immigrants in detention centres, especially as US immigration-related deaths reached a 20-year high in 2025.