Immigrants being held in El Paso's Camp East Montana protested the conditions in the massive detention center over Labor Day weekend and demanded their immediate deportation.
The protest escalated over the weekend with dozens of detainees breaking down at least four walls of detention pods during the protests on Sunday, Sept. 7, El Paso-based immigrant rights advocates said.
Guards responded to contain the detainees, while Texas Department of Public Safety helicopters flew overhead.
The wife of a Venezuelan immigrant held at the detention center, who requested to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals against her husband, confirmed the protests to The El Paso Times.
"He told me that the Venezuelans there were protesting because they've been there a long
time and they are not being deported," she said, "and that they are crowded together, the food they are given is bad, and they're treated poorly."
She said that many detainees like her husband had been held for up to nine months. He was given a deportation order.
She has not spoken with her husband since Monday morning.
Videos from inside Camp East Montana of theprotest have circulated on social media.
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the El Paso Times that detainees began protesting at around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
"Approximately 130 illegal alien detainees at Camp East Montana began throwing items, flipping furniture, and disabling security cameras," the spokesperson said. "The detainees involved caused significant damage to the detention facility and property."
The DHS spokesperson criticized the protests over long-term detention, saying, "Is there any reasonable expectation that illegal aliens who resort to violence while awaiting their immigration proceedings in custody have any intention of becoming peaceful, law-abiding members of American society?"
"There are no reported injuries as this time, and all detainees have been account for," the spokesperson said.
There are over 2,000 immigrants currently detained in the massive soft-sided detention center. The number has increased sharply as the Trump administration has intensified immigration enforcement operations across the country.
Camp East Montana is the largest detention center in the United States, holding 5,000 people.
Formally, ICE held deportees in the Services Processing Center prior to their removal. But Camp East Montana has become the final spot where they are held prior to deportation.
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: Immigrants held at Camp East Montana protest over Labor Day weekend
