KFOX14: Minnesota Rep. visits detained woman with ovarian cyst at El Paso's Camp East Montana

EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig's visit to El Paso's Camp East Montana on Monday is raising questions about the medical care inside the detention facility, as the congresswoman calls for urgent medical care for a detained Minnesota woman with an ovarian cyst.

The Democratic congresswoman traveled to El Paso on Monday to tour the facility and visit 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco, who has been suffering from an ovarian cyst since before she was detained on Feb. 5 in Minnesota.

"In the last few days, the El Paso processing center has confirmed that her ovarian cyst is still there, but they have not yet allowed any sort of surgery to correct it. The cyst is the size of a tennis ball, she's still in tremendous pain in detention, and my sit-down with her was incredibly emotional, and she remains hopeful," Craig said in a press conference following her visit to the detention center.

Pedro-Francisco, who is from Guatemala and was living in Burnsville, was scheduled to have surgery for the ovarian cyst on Feb. 11. However, six days before the surgery on Feb. 5 she was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on her way to work and was sent to El Paso on March 20, where she has not received what Craig’s office describes as adequate medical treatment as her condition worsens.

Craig’s office said it has made repeated efforts to facilitate Pedro-Francisco’s release or ensure she receives necessary medical treatment while in detention, but ICE officials have failed to provide the care prescribed by her doctors in Minnesota.

"At a minimum, she should have surgery here to make sure that no one else dies in ICE custody. This is a serious, serious medical issue,” Craig said.

Craig also described what she said were inconsistencies in Pedro-Francisco's medical evaluations and said officials have not provided clear answers about her care.

She added that “her attorneys have now provided the folks here in El Paso access to all of her medical records.”

In a statement emailed to KFOX14/CBS4, an ICE spokesperson said Pedro-Francisco has been evaluated by medical staff, where it was determined that her condition does not make her a "candidate for surgical intervention," but has received pain medication during an emergency room visit.

“Pedro-Francisco has been screened and evaluated by medical staff during her detention in El Paso. She was originally detained at Camp East Montana, where she was seen by medical staff on-site several times, transported to an area emergency room once, and evaluated multiple times at a local behavioral health center. She was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst during her emergency room visit, for which she received pain medication and was returned to Camp East Montana. Medical staff have determined her condition does not make her a candidate for surgical intervention. However, a periodic ultrasound is recommended to monitor the condition," an ICE spokesperson said.

They added, “ICE maintains longstanding practices to provide comprehensive medical care, including access to vaccines, medical, dental, and mental health services, as well as medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare that many individuals have received in their lives.”

According to El Paso Matters, citing Pedro-Francisco's attorney Ruby Powers, Pedro-Francisco came with her mother to the United States without authorization in 2019 when she was 16. She has not been ordered deported and has a pending asylum claim, based on violence faced by women and Indigenous people in her home country.

Powers told El Paso Matters that she has asked ICE to release Pedro Francisco on humanitarian parole, a discretionary power the agency has for detainees facing medical issues.

Additionally, Pedro-Francisco filed a petition for habeas corpus in February, arguing that indefinite detention was illegal. That petition was recently denied by an El Paso judge in April.

In a statement to KFOX14/CBS4, ICE officials confirmed the request to release Pedro-Francisco was denied on May 4.

“Her request for release on parole was denied May 4," an ICE spokesperson said.

Craig's visit comes after other lawmakers and advocacy groups have continually expressed concerns over the conditions at Camp East Montana.

However, DHS has continued to deny those concerns.

In a previous statement to KFOX14/CBS4 about the conditions at the facility, DHS said it will continue to provide medical care to all detainees.

“ICE will continue to ensure that all of the detainees in our custody receive the level of care, service, and medical support they need to match our high detention standards. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care—including access to vaccines. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives," a DHS spokesperson said.

Since mid-December, three people have died at Camp East Montana, which was built last year to house thousands of immigrants.

According to ICE, 48-year-old Francisco Gaspar-Andres died from natural causes. An autopsy obtained by KFOX14/CBS4 states that Gaspar-Andres died from complications of liver disease. He was the first migrant who died at Camp East Montana.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, originally from Cuba, was the second migrant who died on Jan. 3. His death was later ruled a homicide by “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression,” according to an autopsy report obtained by KFOX14/CBS4.

The homicide ruling comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Campos, a convicted felon, died at the detention center after suffering an undisclosed medical emergency.

Eleven days after Lunas Campos’ death, Victor Manuel Diaz marked the third death at the detention facility. The 36-year-old Nicaraguan man was found unresponsive in his room. On-site medical staff and responding El Paso EMS performed life-saving measures but were unsuccessful.

Additionally, the detention facility experienced outbreaks of measles and tuberculosis, which resulted in Camp East Montana being placed under quarantine after 14 active cases of measles were reported.

Last month, an internal ICE inspection report of the facility was released and detailed dozens of problems within the detention center.

The inspection was conducted Feb. 10 through 12 by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The report identified 49 deficiencies across the facility, including issues involving security, medical care and how staff documented use of force.

The report also found problems with how staff documented use-of-force incidents, including missing reports, a lack of documented medical checks and failures in how those incidents were reviewed, including video not being properly documented. The report further found that a detainee with possible tuberculosis was not properly quarantined.

The findings came weeks before ICE moved in March to end its contract with the company operating the facility, Acquisition Logistics, and bring in a new contractor, Amentum Services Incorporated.

According to federal spending records, Amentum Services has been awarded a contract worth $452.9 billion that has been in effect since March 13 and will run through Sept. 30 as the company is set to "provide detention, transportation, and medical services at the Camp East Montana temporary detention center."

Meanwhile, Craig said Pedro Francisco faces possible deportation to Guatemala. Her next immigration hearing is scheduled for May 20.