😡😡😡 ICE Choked This Father to Death in Texas.
His name is Geraldo Lunas Campo.
A witness literally says guards choked him as he cried, “No puedo respirar” which is I CAN’T BREATHE in Spanish.
And the medical examiner’s office is now saying the death will likely be ruled a homicide — asphyxia due to neck and chest compression — once toxicology comes back.
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Now let’s talk about what the Washington Post is reporting — because this is state violence, and it is spreading.
A 55-year-old Cuban immigrant named Geraldo Lunas Campos died inside ICE custody on January 3rd at a massive tent detention encampment in El Paso County, Texas — Camp East Montana, a facility the Post describes as a colossal makeshift camp that has already drawn reports of abuse and violations of detention standards.
ICE’s initial public statement said only that staff “observed him in distress.” No cause. No details. Just a sterile sentence that sounds designed to protect the institution, not tell the truth.
But the Post reports that the man’s daughter received a call from an employee in the medical examiner’s office, saying a doctor is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compression — and that the office is likely to classify the manner of death as homicide, pending toxicology.
Let’s translate what that means in plain language: a human being was compressed — at the neck and chest — until he could not breathe. And the state is preparing to call it what it is: a death caused by another person’s actions.
A fellow detainee, Santos Jesus Flores, told the Post he saw at least five guards struggling with Lunas Campos after he refused to enter segregation because he wanted his medications. Flores says he watched guards choking him while Lunas Campos repeated, “I can’t breathe.” He says medical staff tried to resuscitate him for an hour, then the body was taken away.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because this country has seen this horror before.
“I can’t breathe” has become the haunted refrain of America — a phrase we keep hearing right before someone dies under the weight of a system that believes it can put its knee, its hand, its boot on the neck of a person and still call itself “law.”
And here’s what makes it worse: this is happening inside an ICE detention regime that is expanding fast, with less oversight, more impunity, and more violence — exactly the way Israel’s occupation operates: hide behind “security,” escalate force, punish entire communities, and treat human beings as disposable.
That parallel is not rhetorical. It’s structural. It’s the same ugly logic:
Dehumanize a target group.
Build an enforcement machine around fear.
Call every abuse “necessary.”
Call every victim “dangerous.”
Block transparency.
Move on.
The Washington Post reports that deaths in ICE detention have been rising — at least 30 people died last year, the most in two decades, and Lunas Campos is one of four detainees who died in the first nine days of 2026 alone, according to ICE’s own public reporting. Who knows how many people they’ve actually killed?!
This is what it looks like when a government floods detention sites, outsources guards, and then pretends it can’t control what happens inside the cages it built.
And yes, the Post notes that Lunas Campos had a criminal record. That’s not irrelevant — but it is not a license to kill. Ask me if I care about his record.
A person can have done wrong and still be protected from being choked to death by the state.
A person can be guilty of crimes and still be entitled to basic human dignity.
That’s the line between civilization and barbarism: we don’t execute people without trial, and we sure as hell don’t let guards crush the breath out of them because they’re “disruptive” while waiting for medication.
The Post reports ICE claims Lunas Campos had been placed in segregation after becoming “disruptive” while waiting in line for meds. Then, later that same day, ICE says staff observed him “in distress” and called emergency personnel who couldn’t save him.
But an internal ICE log referenced an “immediate” use-of-force incident — without detail — days after his death.
That is not transparency. That is bureaucracy’s oldest trick: write the timeline in a way that hides responsibility.
And the Post reports this camp relies on contractors — including a Virginia contractor overseeing the camp and a company employing guards — with no comment provided when asked.
That is the American formula for impunity.
When the violence happens, it’s always “under review.”
When the questions come, it’s always “no comment.”
When accountability is demanded, it’s always “policy.”
When a human being dies, it’s always “distress.”
But when a medical examiner is saying the death will likely be ruled a homicide, the state can’t hide behind euphemisms forever.
Here’s the deeper truth, family:
ICE is not “immigration enforcement.” It is a paramilitary force operating with political permission to brutalize people.
And when that brutality spills into public view — a homicide ruling, a witness, a recording — the system does what it always does: it circles the wagons and dares the public to forget.
I refuse to forget.
Because if ICE can choke a man to death in a tent camp, then this isn’t just an “immigration issue.” This is a human rights crisis.
It’s also an American crisis — because any country willing to treat immigrants like this will eventually treat citizens the same way when power feels threatened.
That’s how the slope works.
And if this reminds you of Israel — the siege logic, the “security” excuse, the dehumanization, the violence wrapped in paperwork — it should. These systems learn from each other. They share tactics. They share rationalizations. They share an ideology: some people don’t deserve rights.
That ideology is evil.
And it must be confronted.
If there is any decency left in this country, there will be an independent investigation, the evidence will be made public, the guards involved will be named, and prosecutions will follow wherever the facts lead.
Not “internal review.”
Not “administrative leave.”
Not “we observed distress.”
Justice.
One question for you to answer in the comments: Do you believe ICE can investigate itself and tell the truth — or does this require independent oversight and prosecutions outside the agency?
And before I sign off, I’m asking again — please help fund this work. This is exactly the kind of story powerful people hope disappears.
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Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun
We have no idea how many people they've killed in these concentration camps.
The unquestionable answer is independent oversight and prosecutions outside the agency. I'm so ashamed of this country. Rest in peace, Geraldo Lunas Campo.