The nation's largest immigration detention camp has seen dozens of emergency calls

Medical Neglect and Deaths Plague Texas Immigration Detention Camp

The nation's largest immigration detention camp has been open for about six months. In that time, dozens of 911 calls have been made from the facility in El Paso, Texas, like this one about someone having a seizure.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: She's in and out of consciousness. UNIDENTIFIED OPERATOR #1: OK. Is she breathing? UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah. UNIDENTIFIED OPERATOR #1: OK. Has she had more than one seizure in a row? UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yes.

There were also suspected heart attacks, serious allergic reactions and injuries. Angela Kocherga with member station KTEP obtained two months of emergency call recordings using the Texas Public Information Act.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED OPERATOR #2: Yes, boss, 911 operator. Let me know what's the address of your emergency. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yes, here at Camp East Montana, please. ICE facility.

During a two-month period at the ICE facility from December through January, there were about 50 calls for emergency services. Several involved people who are medically fragile.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: We have a 80-year-old male that had a witnessed fall. And he hit his head.

The 80-year-old man slipped and fell in the shower.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Coughing). UNIDENTIFIED OPERATOR #3: Is he having any difficulty breathing? UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: No.

A couple of calls involved people with advanced cancer. And there was this pregnant woman.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: She is 12 weeks pregnant, reporting lower back pain and severe headaches.

Human rights organizations, immigrant advocates and lawyers with clients at the camp have documented cases of medical neglect at the tent facility, which usually has about 3,000 detainees.

Dulce, a 34-year-old woman, says she got extremely sick while detained for five months at the camp. I spoke to her recently after she was released with an ankle monitor. She requested we not use her full name because she's concerned talking to the media could affect her asylum petition. The mother of three says she's been in the country for nearly a decade and has a work permit.

Dulce says she was bedridden for several days with a fever. "There's a clinic on site, but detainees have to put their names on a waiting list to see a doctor," she said.

She says drink more water was frequently the only medical advice for a host of health problems. It happened so often, she says the women jokingly called it miracle water.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, recently changed the private contractor operating the tent camp at Fort Bliss. In an emailed statement, DHS said it will work closely with the new contractor, Virginia-based Amentum, in implementing higher standards of medical care, more thorough case processing and intake procedures.

El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has toured Camp East Montana several times since it opened last August. During a visit in late January, Escobar says she was warned to stay out of an area because of an outbreak of tuberculosis.

Escobar says she asked why none of the staff entering and leaving the area wore masks and was told using protective gear was a personal preference.

There was also a measles outbreak in February. The calls to close the camp intensified after three people in custody died. DHS says two deaths are under investigation. Nationwide, more than two dozen people have died in ICE custody since October.

Dulce says she's relieved she's been released and reunited with her family but worries about the women still at the camp.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she says they're people who also have families waiting for them on the outside.