California Attorney General Briefs Court on Inhumane Conditions at California City Detention Facility
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief on Friday in support of the plaintiffs in Ruiz v. ICE, who are challenging the unconstitutional conditions of confinement at California City Detention Facility in Kern County, California, and urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold the lower court's preliminary injunction.
According to the Attorney General's office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened California City Detention Facility, the largest detention facility in the state, last year without ensuring it was adequately prepared to receive civil immigration detainees. Inspecting the facility under its authority under Assembly Bill 103, the California Department of Justice discovered serious problems, including inadequate healthcare infrastructure and systems, limitations on attorney access, insufficient clothing for excessively cold temperatures and unsanitary living spaces.
The brief also cites premature opening without adequate staffing, crisis-level understaffing for healthcare, denial of access to outside medical specialists, rainwater and plumbing leaks into living quarters, inadequate food, excessively long lockdowns and a failure to provide recreational time, in violation of ICE's own detention standards. In November 2025, seven detainees filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California alleging violations of their constitutional rights.
Bonta argues the documented findings support the district court's order that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security provide facility access to a third-party monitor, ensure detainees' access to counsel, and improve clothing and recreational access.
(Source: California Attorney General's Office)
Source: California Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Sacramento 的加州州议会大厦。GSM 加州固定图库收录图片。 / Photo: California State Capitol in Sacramento. Image from GSM's California asset library.
