Third Death in 44 Days at Texas Detention Center Sparks Calls for Probe

Diaz was discovered unresponsive in his cell on January 14 at the Fort Bliss-based center. While federal immigration authorities cited a presumed suicide, the incident follows a series of grim milestones at the site. Just days prior, reports surfaced that a medical examiner intended to classify the death of 55-year-old Geraldo Lunas Campos as a homicide, following accounts of a struggle with facility guards. A third detainee, 49-year-old Francisco Gaspar-Andres, died in December, with officials attributing his passing to natural causes.

Representative Veronica Escobar has called for the immediate closure of the facility, citing a pattern of worsening conditions. The site is operated by Acquisition Logistics LLC, a private firm awarded a $1.2 billion contract despite lacking prior experience in detention management. Internal inspectors previously identified 60 violations of federal standards at the center, ranging from failures in medical monitoring to restricted access to legal counsel. As 2025 records the highest number of deaths in agency custody in two decades, critics argue that the reliance on private, profit-driven contractors has created an environment where basic safety standards remain routinely ignored.