Overview
- California’s Department of Justice released a 175-page inspection report Friday that found worsening conditions at seven Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention sites reviewed in 2025.
- The detainee population grew about 162%, from roughly 2,300 in 2023 to more than 6,000 in 2025, and inspectors said facilities were not meeting ICE’s own detention standards.
- Six people died in ICE custody in California from September 2025 to March 2026, which the report flagged alongside delayed screenings and missed care that created preventable medical crises.
- Detainees described weeks-long intake delays, sleeping on floors without reliable access to water, undercooked food and murky tap water, and at Otay Mesa routine strip searches after non-legal visits.
- Private operators and the Department of Homeland Security defended their compliance and medical care, while state lawmakers sought to make inspections permanent as an eighth facility in McFarland began receiving detainees in April.