Garcia Leads Eight-Member Unannounced Oversight Visit to Adelanto ICE Facility; Lawmakers Cite Sanitation and Medical Concerns
ADELANTO, California — Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led a group of members of Congress on an unannounced oversight visit on October 16 to the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Adelanto, in San Bernardino County, to inspect conditions at one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the country. House Oversight Democrats released Garcia's statement the same day.
According to local coverage of the lawmakers' news conference after the visit, eight members of Congress took part. Members named in public reports included Garcia, Rep. Judy Chu of California's 28th District, Rep. Norma Torres of the 35th District and Rep. Derek Tran of the 45th District. A statement from Tran's office said the lawmakers toured the facility but were not allowed to speak directly with detainees, and that the visit was intended to provide congressional oversight and accountability following reports of unsafe and filthy conditions.
After the tour, the lawmakers raised concerns about sanitation and medical care at the facility. One lawmaker said water was present throughout parts of the facility and that staff had been cleaning the area during the visit, according to the reports. Chu focused on the medical facilities, saying detainees with various health conditions were reportedly given ibuprofen and sent back to their cells. She also cited five deaths at the facility, including that of Ismail Ayala Uribe, a DACA recipient detained despite a history of kidney disease; Chu said he had been experiencing serious medical complications and should have been taken to a hospital. Torres described concerns raised by women detained at the center, saying detainees reported sewage backups in the women's facilities, including raw sewage coming from pipes while meals were being served. She also questioned the detention of people who, she said, had been taken from their jobs despite limited or no criminal histories. The accounts above are the lawmakers' statements made after the visit.
In the committee statement, Garcia said the Department of Homeland Security is buying the facility for hundreds of millions of dollars to escape state and local oversight, and that the members will continue fighting to defend the rights and protect the dignity of everyone in immigration detention. According to GEO Group's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company sold the Adelanto complex — the Adelanto West and East facilities and the Desert View Annex, totaling 2,644 beds — to the federal government for $950 million in a sale that closed on October 2, and GEO continues to operate the facilities under its existing contract with ICE. GSM reported the sale on October 5.
The lawmakers said they want greater transparency and accountability at the facility, which is now federal property, and that they plan to conduct additional unannounced visits in the future. The House Oversight Democrats statement did not include a response from ICE, GEO Group or the Department of Homeland Security.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: ICE执法人员在一处移民拘留设施内工作（资料图，非阿德兰托设施）· 美国移民与海关执法局（ICE）官方图，公共领域（维基共享资源）
