SACRAMENTO – (INT) – A new report on the state of six immigration detention facilities in California casts a shadow on the treatment of detainees.

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) found:

- At one facility, detained persons were subjected to pat down searches anytime they left their housing unit.

- Recordkeeping, maintenance, and review of health care files at all six facilities were deficient.

- DOJ identified a deficiency in suicide prevention and intervention strategies in every facility

-At some facilities, staff appeared to be overutilizing discipline and use of force and did not consider mental health conditions prior to engaging in calculated use of force incidents

- Detainees were over-disciplined, including for making complaints.

- Facilities generally not did not conduct mental health reviews required by ICE’s detention standards before placing detained people in segregation (also commonly known as solitary confinement)

- Across most facilities, detained persons faced delays in securing adequate medical care.

- Detention facilities did not consistently satisfy their obligations to support detained people to ensure that mental health conditions did not negatively impact their immigration outcomes

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office’s review of facilities shows that “issues previously identified have persisted, while new findings make clear that these facilities need significant improvements to fall in compliance with ICE’s own detention standards.”

Story Date: April 30, 2025