Lawsuit Details Disturbing Allegations of Abuse, Neglect at California Migrant Detention Centre
ADELANTO,โ Calif. – A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges horrific conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, detailingโ claims of systemic abuse, medical neglect, and unsanitary โliving conditions endured by detainees. The civil rights lawsuit, broughtโข by detainees and advocacy groups, paints a picture of a facilityโข where individuals are subjected too prolonged solitary confinement, denied adequate medical care, and forced to โlive in overcrowded and filthy environments.
The Adelanto facility, reopened in 2023 by Immigration and Customs โEnforcement (ICE) afterโข being shuttered in 2023, currently houses approximately 800 migrants with a capacity of โ2,560 beds. The lawsuit arrives amid โฃheightenedโ scrutiny ofโ ICE detention practices and the Trump administration’sโ intensified โคefforts to deport undocumented immigrants. The allegations raise serious questions about theโ standards of careโค within ICEโ detention centers and theโฃ potential for widespread human rights violations.
Accordingโฃ to the complaint, detainees routinely face delays in receiving medical attention, including forโฃ serious conditions like broken bones and chronic illnesses. The lawsuit alleges instancesโ of inadequate mental โhealth care,leading to self-harm and suicide attempts. Detainees also describe being subjectedโฃ toโค verbal abuse by โคguards, denied access to basic necessities, and confined to unsanitary cells with limited access to hygiene products.
“The conditions at Adelanto are simply inhumane,” saeid a plaintiff inโ theโฃ lawsuit, identified only as “J.R.” in court documents.”We are treated like animals, denied basic dignity, and left to suffer in โฃsilence.”
The โคlawsuit further alleges โthat prolonged solitary confinement is used as a punitive โขmeasure,โข often withoutโค due process, and that detainees areโฃ routinely โdeniedโค adequate food and water.
Department ofโค Homeland Security Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlinโ denied the allegations, stating that ICE “has higher detention standards” than most prisons. “All detainees โคare provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, and toiletries, โand have access to โขphones to communicate withโ their familyโ members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals,” she said in aโฃ statement.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs argueโ that ICE’s standards are demonstrably inadequate โand fail to protect the health and safety of detainees. โThey are โขseeking a court order mandating improved conditions at the Adelanto facility and โคsystemicโ reforms to ICE detention practices.The case โis โexpected to draw โคnational attention as it unfolds, possiblyโค impacting the future of immigration detention โin California and beyond.
The โคAssociated โPress contributed to this report.