Immigrant rights advocates gathered Friday morning in Los Angeles following a federal judge’s decision Thursday ordering immigration authorities to implement immediate changes to improve the health and safety of detainees at the ICE detention center in Adelanto.
“This victory belongs to all of us,” said Kathryn Eidmann, president and CEO of Public Counsel, at a press conference held Friday at the organization’s offices. “But most of all, it belongs to the people who had the courage to come forward and tell a federal court what was happening to them at the Adelanto ICE Detention Center.”
Civil and immigrant rights groups, including Public Counsel, the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the Criminal Immigrant Defender Center (IMMDEF) and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, filed a lawsuit against federal authorities and agencies in January alleging inhumane conditions at the detention center.
The lawsuit included more than two dozen statements from Adelanto detainees alleging troubling conditions, such as medical neglect and inadequate nutrition; Some even claimed that they were served spoiled food, as well as water that they described as dirty, which caused their stomach upset.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes ruled that the detainees who brought the lawsuit “demonstrated that they are likely to prevail” on their claims that conditions at the facility violate Fifth Amendment guarantees against inhumane conditions of confinement. Now, although the case will continue its course in court, the judge issued the decision immediately considering that the detained people could suffer irreparable harm without judicial intervention.
“The decision sends a clear message: No detention facility in this country is above the law,” said Rebecca Brown, supervising attorney at Public Counsel. “The court has recognized what we have always known: that the conditions in Adelanto are inhumane. This order requires the government to do what it should have done from the beginning…We will continue to fight until all people in Adelanto are treated with dignity and every provision of this order is fully implemented.”
The facility, privately operated by GEO Neighborhood in San Bernardino County, where nearly 1,500 people are detained, is required by court order to provide basic needs, including clean drinking water, adequate food and sanitation, privacy in bathrooms, temperature-appropriate clothing and bedding, and daily outdoor recreational activities.
Additionally, it limits the number of people, restricts administrative segregation to cases where there are documented safety concerns or at the request of the detainee, and mandates that the facility submit, within 14 days, a corrective action blueprint that addresses medical care and disability accommodations throughout the facility.
Not only that, but two independent monitors will ensure compliance through unannounced inspections and monthly public reports, and detainees will have a confidential complaints system to communicate directly with them. Additionally, the center is prohibited from retaliating against anyone who speaks about their experience or participates in the case.
“That protection is extremely important because, as we know, it is very difficult for detained people to come forward for fear of retaliation,” said Belinda Escobosa, an attorney with Public Counsel. “And while we are here, we have members of our group in Adelanto, where they are handing out flyers with this information so that detainees know their rights as a result of this verdict.”
The Adelanto Detention Center and GEO Neighborhood have denied the allegations from the beginning despite multiple statements and evidence against them. In a statement to different news outlets, DHS said the following:
“Any claim that there are poor conditions at the Adelanto center is FALSE. This is another example of an activist judge appointed by Biden trying to smear our ICE agents,” the spokesperson told Univision, ensuring that detainees receive medical care that, he stated, is “better than what many foreigners have received in their lives.”
Still, the news comes at a time when the detention center has recorded 4 deaths and ICE raids are beginning to intensify. For organizers and the families of those detained at Adelanto, the news of the new demands gives them some peace of mind for their loved ones.
“This precautionary measure is a classic step toward accountability. The court has made clear that the conditions at the Adelanto detention center do not meet the basic standards required by our Constitution. No one—regardless of their immigration status—should be subjected to inhumane treatment or deprived of their fundamental rights,” said Angélica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA. “This confirms what affected communities have been saying for years: dignity, safety and due process are not optional and we will continue to fight until those rights are fully respected.”
