People held in ‘decrepit’ California ICE facility sue over ‘inhumane’ conditions | California

Seven people detained at California’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center have filed a lawsuit against the US government, claiming they were denied essential medications, frequently went hungry and were being held in a “decrepit” facility.

The federal class-action complaint filed against ICE on Wednesday challenges “inhumane conditions” at the California City detention center, which opened in late August at a shuttered state prison. The lawsuit alleges “life-threatening” medical negligence, while the plaintiffs said they were denied cancer treatment, basic disability accommodations and regular insulin treatment for diabetes.

The facility is operated by CoreCivic, a private prison company whose defendant was not named.

Residents raised alarm about the facility for two months, with some describing it in interviews as a “torture chamber” and “hell on earth”.

California City is located in the remote Mojave desert, 100 miles (160km) northeast of Los Angeles. Can accommodate more than 2,500 people, growing ICE’s detention capacity in California increased by 36%. Lawyers say more than 800 people are currently detained.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that allegations of “high-interest conditions” at the detention center were “false,” writing: “No one is denied access to appropriate medical care.”

The lawsuit, which alleges constitutional violations, describes conditions as “horrific” and says: “Sewage gushes from shower drains and insects crawl up and down the walls of cells. People are locked in concrete cells the size of a parking lot for hours.”

The complaint alleges that the temperature inside was “frigid” and that detained residents, who could not afford t-shirts costing about $20, “suffered from the cold, some wearing socks as makeshift sleeves”; meals are “junk” and people who cannot afford additional food go hungry.

Even though residents are detained for civil immigration violations rather than criminal offenses, California City “operates in a much more restrictive and punitive manner than a prison,” attorneys say. The lawsuit alleges that families were forced to visit relatives behind glass, parents were denied the ability to hug or touch their children, and the facility “sharply limited access to attorneys, leaving people confused and largely uncommunicative.”

Detainees are given three meals a day, and dietitians evaluate those meals “to make sure they meet appropriate standards,” DHS’s McLaughlin said. “They have access to phones to communicate with family members and lawyers,” he said, adding: “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons.”

Residents stand out as the homeland security department continues to ramp up immigration raids nationally, backed by $45 billion to expand ICE capacity, with more than 100 people detained. 100,000 people. Civil rights lawsuits have repeatedly raised concerns about detention conditions across the country.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Prison Law Firm, the law firm of Keker Van Nest and Peters, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the California Immigrant Justice Collaborative.

Requests for medical assistance “went unanswered for weeks or were never answered,” the complaint states. It is claimed that people with disabilities have difficulty accessing basic services, including wheelchairs. According to the lawsuit, a man whose glasses were confiscated at check-in and who had difficulty seeing objects in front of him was taken to the hospital after falling while getting up from his bunk bed.

The complaint states that plaintiff Jose Ruiz Canizales, who is incarcerated and is deaf and nonspeaking, has been in California City since Aug. 29 but has only communicated with staff once via video through a sign language interpreter. When he tries to communicate, staff “mostly shrug, walk away or laugh at him”. The impact on his mental health was so severe that he was hospitalized for an anxiety attack.

Another plaintiff, Yuri Alexander Roque Campos, has a heart anomaly that requires daily monitoring and medication, but since arriving in California City on Sept. 5, he has been denied medication for “days,” his attorneys wrote, resulting in two emergency hospitalizations for severe chest pain. A hospital doctor allegedly told him “if this happens again he could die,” but the lawsuit states he has not yet seen a cardiologist and there is still not enough medication.

Lawyers wrote that Sokhean Keo, who had previously talked about going on a temporary hunger strike to protest the conditions, witnessed a friend’s suicide attempt at the facility and continued to be traumatized by flashbacks.

“I am filing this lawsuit to help end the pain and suffering I see here,” Keo said in a statement shared by his lawyers. “ICE is playing with people’s lives and treating people like they’re trash, like they’re nothing.”

When residents consult doctors, “the care they receive is dangerously poor,” according to the complaint; providers fail to document examinations, address abnormal laboratory results, or seek treatment in a timely manner.

Plaintiff Fernando Viera Reyes was transferred to California City in late August and had a pending biopsy appointment to officially diagnose prostate cancer and begin treatment, but his request to see a doctor went unanswered for weeks, and he still has not seen a urologist and has not been tested for his condition, the lawsuit states. His lawyers said blood tests and bleeding while urinating showed his cancer may have metastasized.

The plaintiff, Fernando Gomez Ruiz, a father of two and a 22-year resident of Los Angeles, was arrested by ICE in early October while he was at a food truck outside Home Depot, the complaint said. He had not taken regular insulin for his diabetes since arriving in California City in mid-October, causing his blood sugar to rise and “a large, oozing ulcer on the bottom of his foot,” according to the lawsuit. He says he had to cover his wound with “dirty bandages and bloody shoes” and was worried he would need amputation.

DHS did not respond to detailed health allegations in the lawsuit, but McLaughlin said ICE provides “comprehensive medical care” from the moment people are taken into custody: “This includes medical, dental, and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arrival at each detention facility, a full health evaluation within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arriving at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.” He said ICE “provides necessary accommodations for people with disabilities.”

CoreCivic did not immediately respond to questions. A spokesman told the Guardian in late September that the company was “taking this matter seriously”. [its] The company assumes the role and responsibility of providing high-quality healthcare services available 24/7 and follows healthcare standards set by government partners. The company said residents have “daily access” to enroll in care, prescription medications are administered by medical staff “or by the individuals themselves,” and nurses “immediately notify the ordering physician when refills are needed.”

The plaintiffs also accused staff of “malicious” conduct and “unreasonable use of force.” The complaint states that on Sept. 29, staff entered the cell of a person detained in “administrative isolation,” a form of restricted housing, and beat him with riot shields and pinned him to the ground with knees on his back, even though he was already handcuffed.

On October 3, another plaintiff, Gustavo Guevara Alarcon, testified that he witnessed a police officer pepper spray a man who did not speak English, then the man did not understand the officer and turned toward him. walk away.

In another claim In the October 9 incident described in the case, while people were screaming for help due to a suicide attempt, a person came out of his cell to observe. A member of staff drilling for maintenance work ordered the man to “stick his ass in” and threatened to “put a hole in his chest” – and the man was allegedly disciplined for being outside his cell.

“The City of California’s punitive conditions are intentionally punitive,” said Tess Borden, staff attorney with the Prison Law Firm. “ICE and DHS use detention as a threat to immigrants who decide to stay in America, and they are carrying out that threat in California City. Many people have agreed to deportation, and some are even attempting to take their own lives because the conditions at the facility are so intolerable.”

McLaughlin did not respond to accounts of specific incidents but said ICE was segregating people for “their own protection or the protection of others,” adding: “Ensuring the safety, security and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority… ICE is regularly inspected and reviewed by outside agencies to ensure that all ICE facilities comply with performance-based national detention standards.”