From Fox News: A staffer for Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, allegedly lied about being an attorney at least 11 times for detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in an effort to meet with them and sneak in cell phones.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons informed Escobar in a letter dated Thursday about Benito Torres, a senior caseworker on the congresswoman’s staff.
Lyons said Torres lied about being a lawyer for detainees in ICE custody at the Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
“The available evidence demonstrates your staffer, a senior caseworker named Benito Torres, misrepresented himself as counsel for detainees in ICE custody, violated clear detention standards and security protocols prohibiting the use of cellphones inside ICE facilities, improperly met with multiple detainees, and falsely claimed to ICE personnel such use had been approved by the agency,” Lyons wrote.
The report further quotes Lyons as writing: “As a result of bringing a cell phone into the Camp East Montana facility, contrary to facility visitation policy, Mr. Torres’ misrepresentation that he is a licensed attorney to gain access to detainees, his improper meetings with groups of detainees, and his assertions to ICE personnel about the origins of his visit, Mr. Torres is herby [sic] prohibited from accessing any ICE facility.”
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin announced:
ICE & DHS are accusing one of Rep. Veronica Escobar’s (D-TX) staffers of repeatedly falsely claiming to be a lawyer in order to enter an ICE detention facility, meet with detainees, and give them cell phones. ICE says logbooks show Benito Torres falsely claimed to be a lawyer 11 times and repeatedly signed federal G-28 forms falsely attesting that he was an attorney there to see his clients. ICE says during one visit, the facility administrator at Camp East Montana caught Torres giving a phone to multiple detainees and confronted him, and Torres admitted he wasn’t a lawyer and was visiting as a private citizen.
Torres is now banned from ICE facilities, and the ICE Director has sent a letter to Rep. Escobar, demanding to know if Torres made the “fraudulent visits” with authorization from her, and whether or not she will cooperate with a potential federal investigation into the incident.
We have reached out to Rep. Escobar’s office, which tells @FoxNews they are looking into it. Will update when we hear back.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) fired a staffer last year who had falsely claimed to be an attorney to gain entry to an ICE facility.
The Department of Homeland Security then confirmed in a separate post:
.@RepEscobar’s staffer, Benito Torres, repeatedly falsely claimed to be an attorney representing detainees — even signing federal paperwork attesting that he was legal counsel for specific individuals.
The facility administrator discovered that Torres was passing a phone to multiple detainees and spoke to him; at that time, Torres admitted he was not an attorney and was visiting as a private citizen.
After the fraudulent visit, officials reviewed past visitor logs and discovered Torres had repeatedly represented himself as a lawyer or said he was visiting for legal reasons. ICE records show that Torres has misrepresented himself at least 11 times.
.@RepEscobar’s staffer, Benito Torres, repeatedly falsely claimed to be an attorney representing detainees — even signing federal paperwork attesting that he was legal counsel for specific individuals.
The facility administrator discovered that Torres was passing a phone to… https://t.co/MlA0C6jXBq pic.twitter.com/73F0eisici
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 19, 2026
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