When protests surrounding the Trump Administration’s strict immigration policy began to sweep the nation, some of the most robust were reported to have occurred in California. Despite this, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has continued to carry out mass deportations in all states. One of the more recent efforts being their opening of California’s largest detention center, located two hours from the University of California Riverside’s campus in California City, late August at the former prison California City Correction Center.
Managed by the national private prison and detention center company CoreCivic, the facility currently holds approximately 500 detainees but is equipped to hold up to 100,000. Since its opening reports of severe neglect have begun to emerge.
According to a Los Angeles Times article many of those detained have suggested conditions within the facility are similar, if not poorer than, incarceration.
Abuse alleged by detainees include neglect to provide sanitary items and cleanly facilities such as toilets, the threat and use of prolonged isolation such as “the hole” (confinement to a small-single cell) for minor infractions. Other reports include excessive use of force from guards and exposure to coercive messaging such as posters being placed around the facility with the phrase “Do you want to return home,” enticing detainees to submit to deportation. Most pressingly, they report being denied necessary medical aid, even after making prior requests.
The Los Angeles Times article also reported that over 100 of the detainees currently being held in the facility had engaged in hunger strikes to protest their conditions. Some only ending theirs once they became too sick for facility staff to continue ignoring their demands.
The facility’s opening is currently being contested by both advocacy groups, such as the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ), and the city’s government.
According to an article from The Guardian, the CCIJ and other advocacy groups have protested at the detention center to no avail.
The Guardian’s article also reported that California City Mayor Marquette Hawkins and the city are exploring means to legally hold the DHS accountable with fines for failing to adhere to Senate Bill No. 29, a state bill that prohibits law enforcement agencies from creating or renewing housing contracts for non-citizens in immigration’s custody.
Because California City is located in the Mojave Desert, far from thriving markets, struggling with unstable leadership and with a quarter of its population living in poverty, city officials claim they lack the resources needed to combat the federal government.
Administrative officials from both CoreCivic and DHS have both openly denied reports of abuse within the facility. CoreCivic spokesman Brian Todd shared with the Los Angeles Times that they “… strive to ensure detainees are cared for in the least restrictive environment necessary,” and affirmed that “individuals in restrictive housing (CoreCivic’s term for isolation) still have full access to courts, visitations, showers, meals, all medical facilities and recreation.”
Although the city is exploring legal action against DHS, as it is now CoreCivic’s contract with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stands until Aug. 2027. Facility operation is projected to earn the company $130 million annually.
