Medical emergency crews responded to two overdoses at ICE’s Camp East Montana in El Paso over Memorial weekend, 911 call logs show.
The two call logs obtained by the El Paso Times through an open records request show two calls at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, and at 9:18 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, for two men, 35 and 34 years old, suffering from overdoses. Detention center medical staff made the 911 calls, but they did not provide much information.
El Paso Fire Department responded to both emergencies. The men’s conditions are currently unknown.
It’s under clear if the men were detainees. But the overdoses are raising red flags for civil rights advocates who have voiced concern with the conditions and access to medical attention in Camp East Montana.
“The news of two individuals overdosing at Camp East Montana is deeply disturbing and raises profound concern for the health and wellbeing of these individuals and all those detained at Camp East Montana,” Charlotte Weiss, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said. “The overdoses underscore our longstanding and documented concerns of medical care, mental health treatment, failure to protect and safety at this facility.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the cases.
El Paso ICE detention center continues to raise concerns
The ICE detention center is the largest in the country, with a capacity to hold 5,000 people. Allegations of human rights abuses have plagued the site since it opened in August 2025.
Amentum Services took over management of the $1.2 billion detention center from Acquisitions Logistics in April 2026. The previous company had its contract canceled after numerous reports of violations and mismanagement of the largest detention center in the U.S.
An internal ICE investigation also found 49 violations at the site managed by Acquisition Logistics.
Among the violations of detention policies and operational procedures found were 22 deficiencies related to “use of force and restraints,” 11 issues related to “facility security and control,” and five related to “medical care.” The report also lists two deficiencies in “sexual abuse and assault prevention and intervention,” four deficiencies related to the “grievance system,” and one related to telephone access.
U.S. representatives, including Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, Angie Craig, DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party)-Prior Lake, and other political leaders, have raised concerns about the conditions at the detention center following more than a dozen oversight visits. Congressional representatives have repeatedly raised concerns over detainees’ access to medical and mental health services.
At least 49 migrants have died in ICE custody since President Donald Trump returned to office, with 18 deaths occurring in 2026. At least 10 of these deaths were suicides, an investigation by the Associated Press found, including Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan migrant who died at the center on Jan. 17.
These deaths come as the Trump administration is looking to detain and deport as many immigrants as possible from the U.S.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 911 logs show 2 overdoses at El Paso ICE detention center
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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