Overview
- Seven detainees filed a complaint Wednesday in the Northern District of California seeking class-action status and declarations of unlawfulness under the First and Fifth Amendments and the Rehabilitation Act.
- The suit alleges unsanitary, punitive conditions, including sewage backing up in showers, insect infestations, frigid concrete cells, inadequate food, restricted attorney access, and failures in disability and religious accommodations.
- Plaintiffs cite medical neglect such as denied insulin for diabetic Fernando Gomez Ruiz leading to a severe foot ulcer and delayed heart medications for Yuri Alexander Roque Campos resulting in two hospitalizations.
- The facility, reopened by ICE in late summer at a former state prison, is operated by CoreCivic under a reported $130 million annual contract, holds roughly 800 people, and has capacity for up to 2,560.
- ICE, DHS, and CoreCivic dispute the allegations and say standards are met, while prior detainee protests in September led to claims of retaliatory lockdowns and solitary confinement.