California ICE Detention Centers Worsen Under Trump, State Inspections Reveal

Inspections by the California Department of Justice have confirmed that conditions at immigration detention facilities in the state have deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office. A report published May 15 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta found that overcrowding in seven ICE facilities operating last year led to inadequate medical care, food, and hygiene, as well as excessive use of force by guards.

Investigators said these issues violate ICE's own detention standards. Bonta called the conditions "cruel, inhumane and unacceptable." "The Trump Administration's mass deportation campaign has led to a shocking increase in detainee populations — and facilities have been alarmingly unprepared to meet this new demand," Bonta said.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment. Policy changes from the Trump administration, including arrests of people who would normally be allowed to pursue their immigration cases out of custody and denials of bond for people who previously would qualify, have dramatically increased the populations in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

A state law from 2017 requires the state Department of Justice to monitor conditions in ICE facilities. The state Attorney General's Office has previously released reports in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2025.

Since the state Department of Justice's review, another immigration detention facility has opened in California, bringing the total to eight. All are run by private prison companies contracted by the federal government.

GEO Group runs five of the eight facilities. The Trump administration recently appointed David Venturella, who worked as a GEO Group executive for over a decade, to be acting director of ICE.

Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego reported a higher number of detainees than the maximum number allowed in its contract, according to the report. Inspectors found evidence of troubling conditions at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California's Mojave Desert and the nearby Desert View Annex, both run by GEO Group.

"The observations and interviews at Adelanto and Desert View paint a picture of an understaffed facility overwhelmed with detainees and unprepared to provide basic necessities," the investigators wrote. When asked about the report, Christopher Ferreira, a spokesperson for GEO Group, said that ICE monitors the company's facilities for compliance with detention standards.

"We are proud of the role our company has played for 40 years to support the law enforcement mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)," Ferreira said.

"Over the last four decades, our innovative support service solutions have helped the federal government implement the policies of seven different presidential administrations." In January, a group of people held at Adelanto filed a class action lawsuit alleging medical neglect and poor conditions. Many of the issues observed by state investigators at Adelanto and Desert View involved medical care.

ICE standards require facilities to conduct medical screenings of new arrivals within 12 hours. State investigators found that some detainees never had screenings or sometimes had screenings delayed by more than a week.

Those who had screenings and needed follow-up care for chronic or urgent issues often did not receive timely treatment. Only 18% of detainees interviewed said they had been able to see a doctor for their medical issues, according to the report.

Four people have died at Adelanto during the second Trump administration. Investigators also found evidence of excessive use of force.

One detainee told inspectors that facility staff placed a group of recent arrivals in a dining room to wait for intake and that a guard pepper-sprayed the room, causing irritated eyes and skin. At least 20 people held in Desert View Annex recently went on a hunger strike to protest conditions.

"There are many people suffering here. This is the only way we have to raise our voice," the hunger strikers said in a joint statement.

"This is a call to stop the suffering and to respect our dignity as human beings." GEO Group deferred to ICE when asked about the hunger strike. The strikers are calling for repairs to the facility, including its water infrastructure and remediation of mold, adequate medical care, nutritious food, accountability for deaths, and a right to organize without retaliation.

They are also asking for the government to shut down the facility. A woman who identified herself as Eva said her husband, Luis, had been detained at Desert View for about five months.

"It's been a horrible experience throughout," she said, noting that her husband hadn't received proper follow-up care for a finger surgery he had before detention, and now he has pain radiating through his arm. "Nobody deserves to be treated that way," she added.

At Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, run by CoreCivic, the facility had a maximum capacity of 1,142 ICE detainees but staff told inspectors it had 1,433 people in ICE custody when they inspected last October. "Overcrowding is a big concern at the facility, where overflow detainees sleep on 'boats' — small mats — placed on the floor due to the unavailability of beds," the inspectors wrote.

The overcrowding also meant the facility did not have the required number of toilets per person. Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, pushed back on the report's findings.

"CoreCivic has significant concerns about the accuracy of several findings in this report, which do not reflect the documented operational record at our California City and Otay Mesa facilities," Gustin said. "That record has been verified by independent auditors, federal oversight officials and elected officials who have toured these facilities firsthand." People held at Otay Mesa have complained to Capital & Main about inadequate medical care over the past year, including a man experiencing rectal bleeding and a Russian man named Andrei Menshikov who said he went blind while in custody and that CoreCivic had not responded adequately.

Speaking through an interpreter, Menshikov said he navigates by touching walls and needs help to go to the kitchen. Gustin said CoreCivic could not comment on an individual's medical record for privacy reasons.

"We're not aware of anyone in our care at Otay Mesa losing their sight," Gustin said. "If anyone in our care has a disability, our facility staff work to ensure that accommodations are provided." State inspectors found that CoreCivic's California City Detention Facility, the newest of the seven inspected, opened prematurely and did not have sufficient staff, including medical personnel, when it began holding detainees.

The report says the facility had extensive violations of ICE detention standards, including issues with medical care, cold temperatures and leaks, lack of protective clothing, and excessive lockdown periods. A detainee named Allen, who declined to be fully identified due to retaliation concerns, said guards put men outside in the yard without water for hours during a search, and three people passed out from the heat.

Gustin called Allen's experience "patently false" and said water is always available when detainees are outside. The Imperial Regional Detention Facility near San Diego, run by Management and Training Corporation, showed some improvements since the last inspection, particularly in medical staffing levels, but people held there are still struggling to get needed specialty referrals or follow-up care for chronic conditions.

Two people have died while in custody there during the second Trump administration. Emily Lawhead, a spokesperson for Management and Training Corporation, said the company is taking Bonta's report seriously and is investigating the concerns raised.

It was the only company of the three that acknowledged the report's findings or indicated it would potentially make changes.