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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released additional evidence it says confirms that a staffer for Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, lied about being an attorney for detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in an effort to meet with them and sneak in smuggled cell phones.
In March, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons informed Escobar in a letter about Benito Torres, a senior caseworker on the congresswoman’s staff, who he said lied about being a lawyer for detainees in ICE custody at the Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
Lyons requested that Escobar answer several questions about Torres’ alleged actions.
“Rep. Escobar refused to respond honestly. Instead, she took to X to defend Torres and gaslight the public,” DHS said Thursday.
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A staffer for Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, allegedly claimed to be an attorney to access a migrant detention facility and tried to smuggle a phone inside, officials said. (Getty Images)
Initially, DHS released an image of a sign-in log showing Torres allegedly claiming to be a “lawyer” visiting a “client.” ICE records show that he first misrepresented himself as a legal professional in September 2025, Lyons said.
A Feb. 18 memo states that on a Jan. 23 visit to the facility, Torres falsely claimed to be an attorney while requesting to see 22 detainees. It was determined that he was not a legal professional, the memo said.
The most recent incident allegedly happened on Jan. 30.
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The Department of Homeland Security said it has more evidence that a staffer of Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, falsely claimed to be an attorney in order to get into an ICE facility. (Department of Homeland Security)
“Torres lied about being an attorney in order to gain access to an ICE detention facility,” a DHS statement said. “He misrepresented himself repeatedly over the course of several months, talking directly to detainees even though he was NOT their legal counsel. He even passed a phone around multiple detainees during a January 2026 visit, a dangerous violation of security protocols.”
“Actions like Mr. Torres’ are meant to undermine ICE’s statutory mission to enforce immigration laws and remove illegal aliens from the interior,” the statement continued.
Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS and Escobar’s office.
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A log with the name of Benito Torres in which he allegedly claimed to be a “lawyer” visiting a “client.” (Department of Homeland Security)
At the time of the initial allegations by DHS, Escobar described Torres as “a dedicated public servant” and “Army veteran,” saying the accusations against him were “unfounded.”
She also criticized the facility and accused the Trump administration of retaliatory tactics.
“It is worth noting that ICE has refused to respond to multiple letters I’ve sent about Camp East Montana regarding deaths, including a homicide; outbreaks of diseases including COVID-19, measles, and tuberculosis; waste, fraud, and abuse; a lack of legal representation or medical care; and so much more,” she said. “This administration has a history of engaging in intimidation tactics against Members of Congress as well as continuously attempting to obstruct our ability to provide oversight.”
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Camp East Montana is photographed Friday, March 6, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. (Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK)
“I stand proudly by the members of my team who have demonstrated nothing but dedication and integrity to serving our nation and our community,” Escobar added.
The congresswoman has previously demanded the Camp East Montana facility be shut down, describing it as “disastrous and inhumane.”
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“The United States already has the largest immigration detention network in the world, and these added facilities serve only as tools for the administration’s inhumanity,” she wrote in a March post on X.
Torres has been banned from ICE facilities.
