The death of an illegal immigrant at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in El Paso, Texas, will likely be ruled a homicide, according to a news report.

The El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner “will likely” classify the recent death of 55-year-old Cuban national Geraldo Lunas Campos as a homicide, according to the Washington Post. Lunas Campos, a detainee at Camp East Montana in El Paso, died on Jan. 3 after experiencing “medical distress,” according to ICE.

An ICE incident report states Lunas Campos was “disruptive” while in line for medication and refused to return to his assigned dorm, where he was then placed in segregation. Staff saw Lunas Campos in distress during the struggle and contacted medical personnel. Lunas Campos was later pronounced dead by EMS, according to the report.

In a recording of the conversation, a medical examiner employee told Lunas Campos’ daughter that the office will likely classify her father's death as a homicide, the Post also reports. 

The employee also said a doctor at the facility “is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compressions.”

“Our doctor is believing that we’re going to be listing the manner of death as homicide,” the employee also reportedly said. 

A man who was detained in the same unit as Lunas Campos told the newspaper that he saw at least five guards struggling with him after he refused to enter the segregation unit. The detainee said he heard Lunas Campos repeatedly saying, “No puedo respirar (I can’t breathe).”

The Post confirmed the detainee was in Camp East Montana through ICE’s detainee locator.

ICE said that Lunas Campos was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol agents on July 14, 2025, in Rochester, New York, after receiving prior convictions.

Lunas Campos is the second death reported at Camp East Montana, as Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, died in the facility under “suspected natural causes,” which included natural liver and kidney failure, according to an ICE report.

The Department of Homeland Security told KTSM.com, among the first to report on Lunas Campos' death: “On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator, attempted to take his own life while he was detained at the Camp East Montana detention facility. The security staff immediately intervened to save his life.

“Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life. During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness. Medical staff was immediately called and responded. After repeated attempts to resuscitate him, EMTs declared him deceased on the scene. 

The agency said the incident remains an active investigation and more details are forthcoming. 

DHS also included: “Lunas was arrested by immigration authorities on July 14, 2025, during a planned enforcement operation in Rochester, New York. He entered the U.S. in 1996 and has been charged with and convicted of multiple crimes, including felonies, since then. His convictions include:

Criminal possession of a weapon on June 8, 1998.
Petit larceny on May 5, 1999.
Unlawful possession of a weapon during a robbery on March 22, 2002.
Sexual contact with a child under 11 on Jan. 17, 2003.
Petit larceny on Oct. 14, 2005.
Petit larceny on May 25, 2006.
Reckless driving on June 8, 2006.
Possession of a controlled substance on Feb. 26, 2007.
Driving while intoxicated on Oct. 26, 2007.
Sale of a controlled substance on Feb. 17, 2009.
An immigration judge ordered Lunas removed from the U.S. March 1, 2005. However, he was not removed because the government could not obtain travel documents. ICE transferred him to Camp East Montana Sept. 6, 2025.”

ICE didn't immediately respond to KTSM's request for comment.