According to CalMatters Housing, a federal judge has ordered significant improvements to conditions at the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, located in San Bernardino County. Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes issued a preliminary injunction requiring immigration officials to provide detainees with clean drinking water and adequate medical care. The judge determined that those who filed the lawsuit had demonstrated a strong likelihood of succeeding in their claims that conditions at the facility violate the Fifth Amendment's protections against inhumane detention conditions.
The lawsuit was filed following two deaths at the facility that occurred weeks apart last fall. One was Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a former DACA recipient who was thirty-nine years old, and the other was Gabriel García-Avilés, fifty-six years old. Both deaths remain under federal investigation. The detainees' attorneys argued that Adelanto had violated ICE detention guidelines by failing to provide potable water, nutritious meals, sanitation, medical care access, initial health screenings, adequate outdoor recreation time, family visitation, and accommodations for people with disabilities.
In response to these violations, Judge Sykes ordered round-the-clock access to clean drinking water, meals with sufficient calories, and free access to soap and hygiene products. The facility must be cleaned daily with mold identified and removed. Detainees will receive blankets and clothing appropriate to the temperature, along with at least four hours of daily outdoor recreation time. The ruling also prohibits the facility from restricting family visits during normal business hours and eliminates restrictions on physical contact like hugs or holding hands.
The judge's order addresses medical care comprehensively, requiring the facility to conduct at least two daily headcounts to ensure detainees are present and safe. The government has been given fourteen days to develop a plan addressing the medical and disability needs of all detainees. Upon arrival, each person must be evaluated for physical or mental illness, receive ongoing treatment and medication, and have access to primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care. The order also restricts solitary confinement except in cases where staff safety is at risk or the detainee requests it.
Judge Sykes appointed two independent supervisors to oversee compliance during the course of the litigation. Detainees will be able to file complaints with these supervisors in either English or Spanish, with complaints kept in a secure location accessible only to the supervisors. The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the ruling, though its attorney had previously argued that the federal government should not be held responsible for actions of GEO Group, the private contractor operating the facility.
What I'm seeing locally here in the Bay Area and across the East Bay is that cases like this at Adelanto remind us that immigration detention affects our broader communities and economy. Many people held in these facilities are our neighbors, workers, and family members, and ensuring humane conditions is a matter of basic decency. For those of us in real estate and community development, these judicial decisions reflect the values and standards that California communities expect, and they shape the conversation about who belongs and how we treat vulnerable populations in our regions.
