On Tuesday, October 27, the city council in El Paso, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border, voted unanimously to direct local officials to draft a resolution opposing Camp East Montana, the largest immigration detention facility in the United States, located on El Paso’s Fort Bliss Army base. Following the vote, Doctors of the World co-hosted a press conference outside City Hall as part of the Shut Down Camp East Montana Coalition, calling for the facility’s closure.
Since 2022, Doctors of the World’s Border Health Program has provided medical care to migrants, refugees, and immigrant families in El Paso. Today, our teams care for people after they’re released from immigration detention, conduct medical evaluations for those still held inside, and bring care to trusted local spaces for families who fear being detained.
A community speaks up
Residents gathered in the council chamber, many holding signs denouncing abuse and neglect at Camp East Montana. The motion, introduced by City Representatives Dr. Josh Acevedo and Lily Limon, passed unanimously, and the room broke into applause.
Outside City Hall, Doctors of the World stood alongside fellow members of the coalition, including the civil and human rights organizations Border Network for Human Rights, Texas Civil Rights Project, and the ACLU of Texas, together with Representative Acevedo. One by one, speakers condemned the harm happening inside Camp East Montana and urged El Paso not to look away.
Bearing witness to neglect
Megan Palacio, Doctors of the World’s Border Health Program Coordinator, spoke about the devastating impact of detention on the people our team cares for.
“We see the toll of medical neglect at Camp East Montana: untreated chronic conditions, medications cut off, and deep psychological harm,” she said. “That harm follows people out of the facility, to their families, and into the El Paso community.”
Behind those words are real people. A federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, and their partners describes people with diabetes going weeks without insulin, a man with cancer denied chemotherapy, and Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a 48-year-old man from Guatemala who, according to the lawsuit, asked repeatedly for medical care before he died of organ failure in December 2025.
“The right to healthcare doesn’t end at the detention center door,” Megan said. “Every person inside is a human being, and denying them care is denying them their humanity.”
The council’s vote is an important first step, but the work isn’t done. As long as people are suffering inside Camp East Montana, Doctors of the World will keep bearing witness, caring for people after their release, and calling for the facility to be shut down.
Watch Megan’s full statement
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