Overview
- The lawsuit, filed Jan. 26 by CHIRLA, Public Counsel, Immigrant Defenders Law Center and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, targets ICE, DHS and senior officials in charge of the Adelanto facility.
- Plaintiffs allege detainees face mold, contagious illness, scarce drinkable water, inadequate food, poor hygiene and insufficient medical care that they say function as punishment.
- The complaint says Adelanto’s population rose from near empty to nearly 2,000 over the past year, worsening crowding; the GEO Group operates the facility under a federal contract.
- Two detainees died in fall 2025, and families say they were kept uninformed; investigations continue, and ICE disputes advocates’ account of medical care before Ismael Ayala‑Uribe’s death.
- The suit seeks court‑ordered compliance and oversight under ICE detention standards and cites prior watchdog findings from DHS’s inspector general and Disability Rights California; ICE and DHS have not provided a corrective response.