‘Decrepit’ Desert Detention Centre Faces Legal Action Over Alleged Abuse
Seven individuals detained at California's largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the US government, exposing what they describe as "inhumane" and "life-threatening" conditions at the remote desert detention centre.
The legal complaint, filed on Wednesday, targets the California City detention centre located approximately 100 miles north-east of Los Angeles in the Mojave desert. The facility, which opened in late August within a repurposed state prison, can accommodate more than 2,500 detainees, representing a 36% increase in ICE's California detention capacity.
Medical Neglect and Hunger Claims
The lawsuit presents disturbing allegations of systematic medical neglect, with plaintiffs claiming they've been denied essential medications and proper healthcare. According to the complaint, requests for medical attention "go unanswered for weeks or are never answered at all," creating potentially fatal situations for vulnerable detainees.
Among the most serious allegations: one man has been denied cancer treatment despite showing symptoms suggesting his prostate cancer may have metastasised. Another diabetic detainee has not received regular insulin, leading to dangerously elevated blood sugar levels and a "large, oozing ulcer" on his foot that he fears may require amputation.
The legal documents describe how residents frequently go hungry due to "paltry" meals, with those unable to afford supplemental food from the commissary suffering malnutrition. Temperatures inside the facility are described as "frigid," forcing detainees who cannot purchase $20 sweatshirts to wear socks on their arms for warmth.
Disabled Detainees Face Additional Hardships
The lawsuit highlights particularly troubling treatment of disabled detainees. Jose Ruiz Canizales, who is deaf and non-verbal, has reportedly only communicated once with staff through a sign language interpreter via video during his entire detention since August 29th. Staff allegedly "shrug their shoulders, walk away, or laugh at him" when he attempts to communicate.
Another plaintiff with a heart anomaly requiring daily medication has been denied his prescriptions "for days at a time," resulting in two emergency hospitalisations for severe chest pain. A hospital doctor reportedly warned him "he could die if this were to happen again."
Basic disability accommodations are allegedly nonexistent, with wheelchair users struggling to access essential services and one visually impaired man falling from his bunkbed after his glasses were confiscated.
Government Denials and Corporate Responsibility
The Department of Homeland Security has denied the allegations, with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stating that claims of "subprime conditions" are "false." In an email response, she asserted that "no one is denied access to proper medical care" and that detained individuals receive three meals daily evaluated by dietitians to "ensure they meet appropriate standards."
Despite these denials, the lawsuit describes a facility where "sewage bubbles up from shower drains" and "insects crawl up and down the walls of cells." Detainees are reportedly locked in concrete cells the size of parking spaces for extended periods, with limited access to lawyers and family visits conducted behind glass barriers that prevent physical contact.
The facility is operated by private prison corporation CoreCivic, though the company is not named as a defendant in the current lawsuit. CoreCivic previously told The Guardian that they "take seriously [their] role and responsibility to provide high-quality healthcare" and follow government-established standards.
Pattern of Abuse and Staff Misconduct
The complaint details several incidents suggesting a culture of staff misconduct, including an October incident where officers allegedly pepper-sprayed a man who didn't understand English commands. In another September incident, staff reportedly entered a handcuffed detainee's cell and struck him with riot shields while restraining him with knees on his back.
Perhaps most chillingly, the lawsuit describes how during a suicide attempt, when detainees screamed for help and one man stepped out of his cell to observe, a staff member threatened to "make a hole in your chest" with a drill he was holding for maintenance work.
Tess Borden, a supervising staff attorney at the Prison Law Office representing the plaintiffs, stated that "California City's punishing conditions are punishing by design," suggesting the facility uses detention as a threat to immigrants choosing to remain in America.
The lawsuit emerges as the Department of Homeland Security intensifies immigration raids nationally, bolstered by $45 billion to expand ICE capacity with the goal of detaining more than 100,000 people. The case represents another chapter in the ongoing national debate about immigration detention conditions and practices.
