Conditions worsen at California immigration detention centers, AG says

Conditions are getting worse at immigration detention facilities in California, with detainees facing “poor access to clean drinking water” or having issues with receiving timely medical treatment, Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Friday, May 15.

Bonta released the California Department of Justice’s fifth report on conditions at the detention facilities holding people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The report details the conditions at seven immigration facilities operating in California in 2025, according to Bonta:

• Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County
• Desert View Annex in San Bernardino County
• Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Imperial County
• Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County
• Golden State Annex in Kern County
• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Kern County
• California City Detention Facility in Kern County

The worsening conditions, according to Bonta, are driven by President Donald Trump’s deportation “campaign” and by a policy change: not releasing people on bonds.

“This is the federal government paying for-profit, private companies to run these detention centers, and they are running these detention centers with inhumane, cruel and unacceptable conditions,” Bonta said during a press conference on May 15.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the USA TODAY Network's request for comment on the California DOJ’s findings.

Bonta said that since the state's 2023 inspections, the number of detainees has surged from 2,303 to 6,028 as of their site visits last year. Adelanto ICE Processing Center, he said, had the biggest population surge.

“At multiple facilities, detainees reported overcrowding, undercooked food, inadequate clothing, and poor access to clean drinking water,” Bonta said.

Another reported area of issue was over medical care and treatment.

“In interviews, detainees reported that they were not consistently able to access requested medical appointments or receive necessary and timely medical treatment, sometimes even for emergency care,” Bonta said.

In one specific instance, Bonta said that the California City Detention Center was “inadequately staffed” and “often diverged from national detention standards,” as “detainees reported that it was being run like a prison.”

According to Bonta, there were six deaths between September 2025 and March 2026, with four of those deaths occurring at Adelanto and two at the Imperial Regional Detention Center.

The report unveiled on May 15 is the California DOJ's fifth examining conditions at immigration detention facilities in the state.

“Five reports on substandard and inhumane conditions since 2019 are five too many,” he said.

California immigration detention facilities respond to report

Operators of the seven immigration detention facilities provided lengthy, emailed statements to the USA TODAY Network in response to the California Department of Justice’s latest report.

Adelanto, Desert View, Golden State and Mesa Verde are GEO Group facilities.

A spokesperson for the company said that its “support services are monitored by ICE, including by on-site agency personnel, and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with ICE’s detention standards and contract requirements regarding the treatment and services ICE detainees receive.”

“In the event issues are identified, we quickly resolve all of ICE’s concerns as required by ICE’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan,” a GEO Group spokesperson said.

“At locations where GEO provides health care services, individuals are provided with access to teams of medical professionals including physicians, nurses, dentists, psychologists, and psychiatrists,” the spokesperson said. “Ready access to off-site medical specialists, imaging facilities, Emergency Medical Services, and local community hospitals is also provided when needed.”

Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic whose ICE-contracted facilities include California City and Otay Mesa facilities, said the “safety, health and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care is our top priority.”

“We take seriously our responsibility to adhere to all applicable federal detention standards in our ICE-contracted facilities, including the California City and Otay Mesa facilities, which are subject to multiple layers of oversight by our government partners, including auditors knowledgeable in the federal government's detention standards who regularly conduct on-site inspections,” Gustin said in an email.

Gustin also pointed to the health care services he said detainees have access to, and that emergency care is available around the clock daily.

“All our immigration facilities where we provide healthcare adhere to federal detention standards, including staffing,” Gustin said.

Management & Training Corporation, which operates the Imperial Regional facility, is taking Bonta’s “report seriously, especially any concerns involving medical care,” according to a statement provided in an email.

MTC, in its statement, pointed to numerous positive findings in the report regarding its Imperial Regional facility over health care, programming and recreation, food service and access to courts and attorneys.

However, MTC did acknowledge some concerns the report raised over "specialist referrals and follow-up care for chronic conditions under the Performance-Based National Detention Standards.

"We take those concerns seriously and are reviewing the relevant records and processes, including referral tracking, chronic-care monitoring, and coordination with outside providers and ICE Health Service Corps," MTC said in a statement. "If our review identifies gaps, delays, or missed standards, we will address them."

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].