Fox News host Jesse Watters praised ICE detention centers on air, calling them “amazing” and claiming they provide extensive medical care. Co-host Jessica Tarlov pushed back amid discussion of the Jan. 3 death of detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose autopsy ruled his death a homicide with head injuries and burst neck blood vessels. Human rights groups and 45 detainees reported abuse and intimidation at Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss, and the ACLU warned the facility risked broader humanitarian crises. The exchange comes as lawmakers and advocates step up calls for investigations and greater oversight of detention practices.
Jesse Watters Calls ICE Jails “Amazing” — Colleague and Rights Groups Push Back After Homicide Ruling
Fox News host Jesse Watters drew sharp attention on air after praising U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers as “amazing,” claiming detainees receive extensive medical care. The remarks came during a heated exchange with co-host Jessica Tarlov about the treatment of people held in ICE facilities and the Jan. 3 death of 55-year-old detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos.
Watters repeated ICE’s initial account that Campos had attempted suicide and that staff tried to save him. “It’s already been debunked weeks ago,” Watters said on The Five. “The guy was trying to commit suicide, and the people were trying to save his life.” He went further to laud services at detention sites, saying detainees receive dental care and what he called “concierge healthcare.”
Geraldo Luna Campos and the Camp East Montana detention center. / ICE Instagram/Getty Images
Tarlov pushed back, urging scrutiny of conditions. “You go, go live in there,” she said, pointing listeners to accounts of harsh conditions at some facilities nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Her comments underscored a wider dispute about how detention centers are run and what detainees actually experience.
Authorities held Campos at Camp East Montana, a facility on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. An autopsy by the El Paso County medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide, finding head injuries and burst blood vessels in his neck. Those findings have intensified calls for independent investigation and accountability.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon via Getty Images
Accounts From Detainees and Advocates
Human rights groups, including the ACLU, have documented numerous complaints from people detained at Camp East Montana. In interviews with the ACLU and partner organizations, 45 detainees described instances of physical assault, sexual abuse, and intimidation.
“The grim reality unfolding at Fort Bliss should serve as a stark warning: the Trump administration’s mass detention surge is not just unsustainable, but fundamentally dangerous,” the ACLU said in a December news release, less than a month before Campos’ death. “What is happening at Fort Bliss today foreshadows the humanitarian crises that will follow at every new facility opened under this unchecked strategy.”
Reports from rights groups and detainees contrast sharply with Watters’ depiction of detention centers as offering robust, concierge-style care, fueling a polarized public debate over immigration enforcement and detention policy.
Broader Political Fallout
The segment aired as immigration detention and ICE practices face heightened scrutiny in Congress and among advocacy groups. Recent high-profile incidents involving detainee deaths and alleged abuse have prompted calls from some lawmakers for investigations and greater oversight of detention operations and Department of Homeland Security leadership. These developments have intensified public and political attention on how detainees are treated and how facilities are monitored.
The exchange between Watters and Tarlov — juxtaposing a defense of ICE operations with accounts of abuse and a homicide ruling — reflects a broader national debate over detention policy, oversight, and the treatment of people in custody.
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