Federal judge calls for modifications to Adelanto ICE facility
The judge ordered immediate reforms to the Adelanto ICE Center, including access to clean water, food, sanitation, quarantine restrictions, and monitoring.
- A federal judge has ordered the government to correct unconstitutional conditions at the Adelanto ICE processing center.
- The court order requires the facility to provide basic necessities such as clean water, adequate food and adequate medical care.
- The ruling provisionally certified a class action lawsuit on behalf of all individuals detained at the facility.
A federal judge has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security to immediately address what he described as potentially unconstitutional conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, a Southern California immigration detention facility that has long faced criticism over the treatment and living conditions of detainees.
In a ruling issued this week, U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes ruled that those detained at Adelanto are likely to be in conditions that violate their constitutional rights. The facility is operated by the private prison company GEO Group and houses approximately 1,500 people awaiting civil immigration proceedings.
The order stems from a class-action lawsuit filed against ICE and DHS by detainees and immigrant rights advocates alleging widespread neglect, including inadequate medical care, unsafe living conditions and retaliation against those who filed complaints.
Judge Sykes directed federal authorities to take immediate steps to improve conditions at the facility before further damage occurs.
Court orders changes to food, water, sanitation and medical care
Under the court order, Adelanto authorities must provide detainees with clean drinking water, adequate food, adequate sanitation, privacy in showers and toilets, temperature-appropriate clothing and bedding, and access to daily outdoor recreation.
The order also limits the use of administrative segregation (commonly referred to as solitary confinement) to situations where there are documented safety concerns or where the detainee voluntarily requests isolation.
Federal officials were also ordered to submit a corrective action plan within 14 days outlining how they will address medical care and accommodations for people with disabilities throughout the facility.
To ensure compliance, two independent monitors conduct unannounced inspections and issue monthly public reports. Detainees will also have access to a confidential complaints system where they can communicate directly with their monitors.
“This decision sends a clear message that no detention center in this country is above the law,” Public Defender supervising attorney Rebecca Brown said in a statement. “The court acknowledged what we have known for some time: conditions inside Adelanto are inhumane.”
The lawsuit alleges dangerous and poor conditions.
The lawsuit was filed in January by the Public Defender, the Humane Immigrant Rights Coalition, the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher on behalf of the detained immigrants.
Lawyers argued that conditions at Adelanto were “cruel, inhumane and degrading.” In March, they sought a preliminary injunction and submitted more than 20 affidavits from current and former detainees, attorneys, medical professionals, and corrections experts.
According to court filings, detainees reported going for weeks without medication or treatment. Other declarations mentioned spoiled food, poor water quality, mold in housing units, and allegations of retaliation against individuals who raised concerns about the conditions.
Advocates said at least four people have died in ICE custody in Adelanto since September 2025. Families of some detainees allege that their serious medical needs were ignored or delayed.
Adelanto’s facility has a long history of surveillance
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center, located in the high desert region of San Bernardino County, is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the country and has been the center of repeated legal challenges, government inspections, and advocacy campaigns over the past decade.
Concerns about health care, suicides, hunger strikes, the use of quarantine and conditions in facilities have prompted investigations and protests by immigrant rights groups. Earlier this year, detainees went on a hunger strike to draw attention to conditions inside the center.
The facility has become a central component of ICE’s detention system in California following the expansion of federal immigration enforcement in recent years. Despite repeated criticism, Adelanto remains one of the department’s main detention sites in the state.
Judge Sykes’ ruling does not resolve the underlying litigation, but it requires federal authorities to immediately begin addressing the circumstances identified by the plaintiffs while the case progresses through court. Federal authorities and GEO Group have not yet filed a full case against the allegations, so the legal process continues.
