Why California’s newest detention facility faces federal lawsuit over medical negligence and ‘punitive’ unsanitary conditions
In early October, agents arrested Fernando Gomez Ruiz and 10 others while he was eating at a lunch cart outside a Home Depot.
The diabetic father of two, who has lived in the Los Angeles area for 22 years, was detained and then quickly transferred to California’s largest detention facility, where he was unable to get regular access to insulin and now has worsening holes in his feet.
Not only is he now worried about being deported, he’s also worried about losing his foot.
Ruiz is one of seven detained immigrants who filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Northern District of California on Wednesday, alleging “inhumane” and “punitive” conditions at the California city’s detention facility in the Mojave Desert.
“The situation in California City is horrific,” said Tess Borden, an attorney at the Prison Law Firm. “These conditions are punitive and they are intended to be punitive.”
Images of the interior of a California city detention facility in the Mojave Desert used in a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
(American Civil Liberties Union)
“The defendants failed to provide constitutionally adequate care to those within the facility,” Borden said. “Sadly, Mr. Gomez-Ruiz is one of those examples.”
The complaint details what it calls “shabby” conditions inside California’s newest detention facility, with sewage bubbling in shower drains, insects crawling up and down the walls of cold concrete cell blocks the size of parking lots, calls for medical help going weeks without calls and people being subjected to excessive punishment.
Ryan Gustin, a spokesman for CoreCivic, which operates the facility, referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE, but said in a statement, “The safety, health and well-being of those entrusted to our care is our top priority.
“We take seriously our responsibility to comply with all applicable federal detention standards in our ICE-contracted facilities, including [California City facility.] Our immigration facilities are closely monitored by ICE’s government partners and are subject to periodic reviews and audit processes to ensure that all detainees enjoy appropriate living standards and care. “
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But last month, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the conditions at the center when asked about it.
“ICE’s detention standards are higher than most U.S. prisons that hold U.S. citizens,” she said. “All detainees received appropriate meals, medical care and the opportunity to communicate with attorneys and their families.”
The lawsuit claims the opposite: insufficient food and water, cold conditions, forced isolation and lack of access to attorneys. It also details instances in which life-threatening situations were allegedly not treated.
Images of the interior of a California city detention facility in the Mojave Desert used in a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
(American Civil Liberties Union)
One of the plaintiffs, Yuri Alexander Roque Campos, did not receive the heart medication he needed. Since arriving there, he has been emergency hospitalized twice for severe chest pain. The last time he went there, doctors told him “if this happened again, he could die,” according to the lawsuit.
“This is a great example of the trauma and heartbreak that people go through,” Boden said.
The former prison opened in August without proper permits as the Trump administration pushed to expand detention capacity nationwide. By the next month, migrants at the 2,500-person facility launched a hunger strike.
The lawsuit was filed by prison law firms, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Immigration Justice Partnership and Keker, Van Nest & Peters.
