Immigration detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County face severe conditions, including mold, contagious diseases, inadequate medical care, and a lack of clean water and food, according to a lawsuit filed Monday against federal officials.
sence October, two detainees have died at the facility. Attorneys and immigrant rights groups claim conditions are worsening as the federal goverment increases detention and deportation efforts.
“The conditions are designed to make people give up their legal cases,” stated Alvaro M. Huerta, director of litigation and advocacy at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “It is indeed a system built to make people break down.”
The lawsuit alleges the “government’s abuses at Adelanto are a core part of its broader scheme to harass, intimidate, punish, and deport immigrants.”
The facility’s population has surged from three to nearly 2,000 in the past year, exacerbating overcrowding and deteriorating conditions. Nationally, the detained immigrant population exceeded 65,000 in November, according to TRAC, a nonpartisan research organization. TRAC reported that at least 73% of those detained had no criminal records.
The suit was filed by attorneys from Public Counsel, a civil rights and economic justice nonprofit, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant rights (CHIRLA).
