Attorney General Bonta Warns of Dangerous Conditions at California City Detention Facility

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shining a light on dangerous conditions at California City Detention Facility. Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened this new facility in California City, the largest detention facility in the state, without ensuring it was adequately prepared to receive civil immigration detainees. While inspecting the facility pursuant to its authority under Assembly Bill (AB) 103, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) discovered serious problems with conditions at the facility and a lack of adequate medical care. In the letter, Attorney General Bonta reports inexperienced staff and unfilled staff positions, incomplete records, lack of due process, and unsanitary living spaces, among other concerns. 

“Everyone has a right to dignity, safety, and respect. Earlier this year, we reported on unsafe and inadequate conditions at immigration detention facilities across California. We also raised concerns that these conditions would only worsen under an influx of new demand,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Unfortunately, because of the President’s inhumane mass deportation agenda, many of these concerns have come to pass. My team has seen and heard first-hand the dangerous conditions at California’s newest detention facility — conditions that violate ICE’s own standards. I implore DHS to take action to address these serious issues.” 

In response to growing concerns for the health and safety of people in civil immigration detention, the California Legislature enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 103 in 2017 to require DOJ to review and report on conditions of confinement at immigration detention facilities through July 1, 2027. The reports are intended to provide members of the public and policymakers with critical information about the conditions that people in civil immigration detention in California are subjected to. Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta released DOJ’s fourth report on immigration detention facilities operating in California where noncitizens are detained by ICE. The report, which identified ongoing deficiencies in standard of care, raised concerns that inadequate conditions would be exacerbated as the Trump Administration sought to increase immigration enforcement and detention. 

Last month, DOJ staff traveled to California City Detention Facility to conduct an initial inspection of ICE’s newest detention facility in California pursuant to AB 103. DOJ staff toured the facility, interviewed facility personnel and detained individuals, and reviewed medical and detention files. During this inspection, DOJ identified the following conditions, which appear to violate numerous ICE National Detention Standards, including: 

• California City Detention Facility opened prematurely and was not prepared to handle the needs of the incoming population: Key staff positions at the facility remained unfilled at the time of DOJ’s site visit nearly three months after opening. Especially concerning, the facility does not have enough medical doctors for its detainee population size. Staff responsible for the day-to-day supervision of detainees appear to be inexperienced and to lack a basic understanding of civil detention management principles.
• The living conditions at California City Detention Facility are unsafe and unsanitary: Detainees reported leaks from rainwater and/or plumbing that infiltrated their living spaces, insufficient clothing and blankets to keep them warm, and being threatened with write-ups if they covered vents to prevent cold air from entering their cells.
• The healthcare at the facility is inadequate and endangering detainees: Notwithstanding the ongoing, large influx of detainees, the facility does not have an adequate system in place for providing healthcare to these detainees. The facility began receiving female detainees before obtaining basic supplies for providing women’s health care, contrary to multiple ICE standards.

In a letter sent to DHS today, Attorney General Bonta seeks to shed light on the conditions observed by DOJ staff during their inspection that appear to violate ICE’s own standards for detention facilities — standards with which CoreCivic, the private operator of this facility, is required to comply — so that DHS has the information it needs to take corrective action.