UPDATE!!!

August 18th, 2016; Today the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced via a memo the plan to phase out and end the contracting between the Bureau Of Prisons and Private Prison Corporations. The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) welcomes and applauds the DOJ for this unprecedented and historic announcement.

However, we are critical that this announcement does not include for-profit prisons under the jurisdiction and management of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The ICIJ calls on the Department of Justice to expand its memorandum of ending private prisons to the DHS and end, once and for all, the detention of immigrants.

We call on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Adelanto City Council to take immediate action to bring closure of the Immigration Detention Facility in Adelanto, CA.

Our collective organizations have been documenting abuses and injustices within the facility, over the past 5 years, and jointly believe that the lack of attention to medical care, preventable deaths, restricted access to counsel, complete disrespect of religious freedoms, and prolonged detention deem the facility dangerous, inoperable, and should be closed at once.

Below is a summary of complaints and issues that have been documented by Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ), Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) and Detention Watch Network (DWN.)

Medical Care Access/Neglect

Attention to medical care at the facility has been consistently documented as subpar and deadly. In a 2015 report on the detention standards of Adelanto, CIVIC [1] highlighted multiple cases of individuals with alarming medical conditions, and a recent letter on behalf of the ACLU [2] shows a pattern of gross negligence. Take for example the case of Gerardo Corrales, a 19-year-old Mexican youth on a wheelchair who detained for up to a year inside the facility. Even though Gerardo had specific medical needs due to being paralyzed from the neck down, they refused him access to things like an American Disability Act compliant dormitory cell and catheters bags for urination. The lack of appropriate housing and catheters led to a urinary tract infection that was short of a kidney failure. Unfortunately this sort of treatment and neglect is common.

In July of 2015, community advocates called on members of Congress to take action regarding the inhumane conditions in Adelanto[3]. The investigation and pressure from Congress uncovered an internal audit of the medical care at the facility. The findings forced ICE to switch out the medical provider, which happened to be the for-profit private prison corporation GEO Group, to a new provider. However, after researching the new medical service provider, it is clear that the for-profit industry is in collusion, as the new medical contractor Corrections Care Services, is run by former GEO Group VP, Jorge Dominics[4]. Although there is a new medical care contract in place, the number of hired medical staff versus the existing detainee population is still over proportioned. With cases of medical neglect still being reported, it is evident that old practices have not changed. This is especially concerning, considering the additional increase in detainees and their anticipated medical needs.

Preventable Deaths in the Facility

Since the opening of the Adelanto facility in 2011, there have been three documented deaths of people detained there, which are attributed to detention and lack of care within the facility. Two of the three individuals have been assumed to have pre-existing conditions prior to arriving at the facility. Clearly, had timely medical care been provided to all of the men, the severe outcome may have been different. These are the names of the three men:

     i. In March 2012, Fernando Dominguez [5], a Mexican Immigrant, contracted and died of pneumonia after being detained in Adelanto without adequate medical treatment. An inspection report conducted in 2012 by the US Office of Detention Oversight [6]determined that Dominguez’s death could have been prevented, had the facility given him proper medical treatment.

     ii. In April 2015, Raul Ernesto Morales [7] a Salvadoran immigrant, died after being transferred to a hospital nearly an hour away (rather than to any of the 3 hospitals within a 20 minute drive) after experiencing “unusual bleeding.” Mr. Morales ultimately died from intestinal cancer, despite no previous diagnosis during the four years that he had been previously detained in two other Southern California Facilities.

      iii. In December 2015, Jose Manuel Azuridia Hernandez [8]a Guatemalan Immigrant, died of a heart attack in Adelanto. Mr. Hernandez was previously at Wasco State Prison near Bakersfield, and was transferred to Adelanto, where ICE screened him as having “no serious health issues.”

Restricted Access to Counsel

No facility, be it private or government run, should have the ability to restrict access to legal counsel, be it a BAR Certified Attorney or BIA accredited representative. However, there are multiple cases of legal representatives and attorneys being denied access to their clients at Adelanto. This includes an attorney who attempted to visit detainees after attending a public event outside Adelanto and the denial of legal assistance to people on a hunger strike in October of 2015. It is an illegal act to deny any client access to their private counsel, especially by non-immigration officials and civilian GEO Guards. Any facility that houses detainees without the proper venues to have legal access and due process goes against the values of this country, and the Constitution.

Lack of Respect of Religious Freedoms

Similar to the lack of access of medical care, the facility has repeatedly failed to accommodate the practices of Muslim detainees being held within Adelanto. Initially, complaints surfaced on the lack of adequate prayer spaces within the facility. Specifically, that Christian denominations have full access to bibles, a space to worship, and clergy, whereas Muslims and Buddhists do not get the same treatment or resources. People in detention have reported being denied access to prayer at specific times of day, which is a core tenant to their religious practices, and that they have been harassed by guards and thrown into segregation for praying. There have also been complaints that only Christian/Catholic faith leaders are available at the facility. In addition, there are many reports from detainees that detention staff would regularly deny them food, and threatened to force feed them while they are observing Ramadan.    

Prolonged Detention

The issue of prolonged detention of people inside Adelanto is extremely concerning. There are many people detained at Adelanto who have spent more than the average six months in detention, subjected to the painstakingly slow process of Immigration Courts. One of the major reasons for their prolonged detention is attributed to the high bond rates offered to individuals detained at Adelanto. According to documented complaints, the average bond amount is $30,000 per person, with outrageously high bond amounts of $50,000 granted to asylum seekers with no criminal backgrounds. It is unconscionable and abhorrent that people are forced to pay such extreme costs for their freedom.

For all the reasons above, it is evident that the facility is unfit to warehouse human lives, and cannot continue operating. Therefore, it is in the best interest of those detained, that the Adelanto Detention Facility is closed at once!