A federal judge on Thursday ordered the government to immediately overhaul conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, finding that detainees were likely to succeed on claims that the government violated their constitutional and disability rights.U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes granted a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction in a class-action lawsuit brought by detainees and immigrant advocacy groups, ordering the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make sweeping changes to medical care, sanitation, food, recreation, disability accommodations and visitation while the litigation continues.In her order, Sykes said the plaintiffs “have demonstrated they are likely to prevail — or at the least, raise serious questions — on the merits of their Fifth Amendment and Rehabilitation Act claims.”Among other things, Sykes ordered the government to ensure detainees were provided 24-hour access to clean potable drinking water, nutritious and sanitary meals that contain a sufficient number of calories, and adequate sanitation throughout the facility, to include daily cleaning and mold remediation.She prohibited the government from placing detainees in administrative segregation unless doing so was necessary to address a security threat to staff or the facility, or if a detainee requested it. “Any segregation must account for the detainee’s mental and physical health and evaluate whether segregated housing is likely to worsen their health,” Sykes wrote.The order required that ICE develop and file, within 14 days, a remedial plan to implement comprehensive systems for medical care and disability accommodations. To ensure compliance with the plan, Sykes ordered ICE to provide access to “two qualified, independent, third-party monitors for the duration of this litigation or until terminated by court order.” At least one monitor will focus on the systems for medical care and disability accommodations and the other on the conditions of confinement, according to the order.In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said all detainees “are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” The spokesperson added that detainees are provided “comprehensive medical care.”“Any claim that there are subprime conditions at Adelanto ICE processing facility are FALSE,” the spokesperson said. “This is another example of a Biden appointed activist judge trying to smear our ICE law enforcement.”A government attorney last week argued that the federal government wasn’t responsible for how detainees were treated inside Adelanto, saying that fell to GEO Group Inc., owner and operator of the facility, according to Rebecca Brown, a supervising attorney for Public Counsel, who rejected that argument.“It’s the government that chose to detain these folks, so it’s the government’s responsibility to give them constitutionally protected conditions,” she said. Brown said the ruling affirmed that position and that conditions at Adelanto are “inhumane and unconstitutional.”A spokesperson for GEO Group could not immediately be reached for comment but previously told The Times that services are monitored by ICE and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with federal government detention standards.“The support services GEO provides include around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access, translation services, dietitian-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, recreational amenities, and opportunities to practice their religious beliefs,” the spokesperson wrote.The lawsuit, filed in January by Public Counsel, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Immigrant Defenders Law Center and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, alleged that immigration detainees are subjected to mold on walls, contagious diseases, a lack of medical care and a lack of clean water and food at Adelanto.Sykes in April denied an initial request for a preliminary injunction.California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta in March filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs’ first preliminary injunction motion. Last month, Bonta refiled a brief in support of the renewed motion.“The decline of detainees’ health and well-being has intensified due to the Trump Administration’s relentless pursuit of immigration enforcement and detention,” Bonta said in a statement last month. “It is cruel and unacceptable, and it is past time for ICE to start following the law.”At least four people detained at the facility have died since September, according to ICE data. The Adelanto facility has for years faced scrutiny about conditions and the treatment of immigrants inside.A 2018 federal report found “serious violations,” including overly restrictive detainee segregation and guards who failed to keep detainees from hanging braided sheet “nooses.” A report from the California Department of Justice in April also found that the six privately operated immigration detention facilities, including Adelanto, fell short in providing inmates mental health care, needed better suicide prevention strategies and used disproportionate force against detainees with mental health conditions.Workers at the facility have previously told The Times the facility was unprepared and understaffed for the surge it was beginning to see under the current immigration policies.Public Counsel said the next step is ensuring the federal government complies with the order before asking the court to make the injunction permanent.News of the court order brought a slight sense of relief for families of detainees who’ve been trying to raise awareness about the lack of medical care at the facility. Among them is the family of Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who was shot by an ICE officer during an operation in October.A federal judge dismissed an assault case against Parias, although that is being appealed. Parias has been held at Adelanto since at least December.According to the office of Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), who has been in touch with Parias and his family, Parias has received inadequate medical care for the gunshot wound. Kamlager-Dove’s office said Parias developed serious complications after elbow surgery, including loss of mobility, swelling, discoloration and persistent headaches. A DHS spokesperson provided The Times a list of medical care given to Parias, including his visitations with physicians and an Orthopedic surgeon.
