Immigrants Allege 'Inhumane' Conditions at California ICE Facility

On November 13, 2025, seven people detained at California's largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the US government. The lawsuit alleges that the detainees have been subjected to "inhumane conditions" at the California City detention center, which opened in late August inside a shuttered state prison.

The plaintiffs claim they have been denied essential medications, including cancer treatment and insulin for diabetes, as well as basic disability accommodations. The facility, run by private prison corporation CoreCivic, is described as "decrepit," with sewage bubbling up from the showers and insects crawling the walls. Detainees are allegedly locked in frigid concrete cells for hours on end and provided "paltry" meals, leading some to go hungry.

Despite being held for civil immigration violations, not criminal offenses, the facility is said to operate "even more restrictively and punitively than a prison." Families are forced to visit through glass, and access to lawyers is "sharply limited." The lawsuit also alleges instances of "abusive" behavior and "unreasonable use of force" by staff.

The Department of Homeland Security has dismissed the claims of "subprime conditions" as "false," stating that no one is denied access to proper medical care. However, the plaintiffs' lawyers argue that the "punishing conditions are punishing by design," used as a threat to force immigrants to agree to deportation.