Detainees at ICE facility in Texas were beaten and abused, rights groups say

WASHINGTON, July 15 - Detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas told two rights groups they were beaten by guards, denied medical care and prevented from contacting family and lawyers, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

The report, issued by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, spans dozens of pages and is based on 80 interviews HRW conducted with detainees that focused on conditions at Camp East Montana, which is located at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso.

"People detained at Camp East Montana reported routine beatings and other excessive force by guards, chronic malnutrition, and unsanitary and degrading living conditions," the report said, citing interviews. "Together, these abuses violate fundamental protections under U.S. and international human rights law."

The report is the latest in a string of investigations documenting abuses at the facility, the largest immigration detention center in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, said in a statement cited by U.S. media that reports of inhumane conditions at the facility were "categorically false". The DHS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

DHS also denied that detainees were beaten or abused and said that ICE took seriously the safety and health of those who are detained.

It has issued similar statements in the past when asked about allegations of abuses at different ICE facilities.

One detainee, identified in the report as Ismael M., 28, from Honduras, was quoted as saying he experienced depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts during his more than five months in detention.

"I sometimes look at my bed sheets, and I wonder if it would be easier to hang myself instead of trying to survive this torture," he was quoted as saying.

Camp East Montana has repeatedly faced criticism from immigration advocates.

It failed to issue use-of-force reports, did not give medicine to seriously ill detainees and wasted tens of millions in taxpayer dollars through rushed contracts, a U.S. government watchdog report said last month.

ICE has been the face of an immigration crackdown and deportation drive that President Donald Trump has pursued and which has been condemned by human rights groups as being in violation of free speech and due process rights.

Human rights groups say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment, especially for ethnic minorities, who have raised concerns of racial profiling.

Trump says his actions are aimed at improving domestic security.

About 50 people have died in ICE custody around the country since Trump took office in January last year. REUTERS