In Daily Memo, we break down immigration raids in Southern California and share relevant news from around the nation. Below, you'll find links and references to topics discussed in our video and more, allowing you to take a closer look at each topic. If you appreciate reporting like this, please consider becoming a member of L.A. TACO, buying some merch, or dropping a dime in our fundraiser so we can continue bringing you this vital information.
150 detainees in Adelanto ICE Processing Center-West signed a legal document known as a Writ Petition, requesting the intervention of a higher court over inhumane conditions within the facility, according to the document reviewed by L.A. TACO. The document alleges unsafe drinking water, lack of medical care, unlawful detention, and violation of the Fifth Amendment due process.
“WE NEED HELP PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH OTHERS. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL,” wrote a detainee in the writ shared with L.A. TACO by Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office.
The complaint alleges that the civil rights of the detainees named in the petition were violated by the warden of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, the Department of Homeland Security, Donald J. Trump, and GEO Group.
The complaint reads:
“Has we the detainee of the above detention center is hereby seeking help in this matter. has this as now become unbearable and inhuman to say the lease. As some individual have now been in detention over 10 months without a court date. Some waiting for a change of venue that is now over 5 months. No due process even the detainees with legal status and no felony or Aggravate Felony or still subject to the same standard. has one of the GEO staff has made clear We are all getting Deported so we just need to shut up."
The complaint alleges that a detainee is attempting to commit suicide due to the inhumane conditions they are facing. The signers write that a father was unable to attend their child's funeral. They write that some detainees have still not seen their detention officers after 10 months in detention. They write about an 82-year-old in a wheelchair.
They describe being given only one or two days to prepare for a court hearing. They say they are facing emotional and psychological distress from a prolonged and unconstitutional, indefinite detention. They write that the food they eat is unfit to serve as animal feed. They say that they go weeks without medical care, having to lie on the ground to be seen. They say the staff called a disabled individual "gay" and accused them of sleeping with other detainees.
L.A. TACO initially reported that the 150 people who signed the petition were participating in the hunger strike. After speaking with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (IC4IJ), we were told that not everybody who signed the document is participating in the hunger strike.
According to the IC4IJ, 150 detainees signed onto the document.
L.A. TACO has not been able to independently review the full document, which is several pages long. The organization says the detainees' demands were lengthy and that concrete examples of the conditions inside were provided. It told L.A. TACO that the document was given to Congresswoman Judy Chu and was written and authored by the folks who are striking.
At this time, the exact number of hunger strikers is unknown. On Friday, the hunger strike reached the east wing of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. IC4IJ says that there were 50 participants in the west wing and 20 in the Desert View Annex, as of Friday. The organization told L.A. TACO that hunger strikers sometimes accept meals but do not eat them for fear of retaliation.
A press conference was held outside of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center at 12:30 p.m. on Monday. The press conference was hosted by immigration rights groups, family members of detainees, and congressional representatives.
“GEO’s claim that there is no hunger strike is a lie,” Chu said during the press conference.
Chu said she heard complaints that the food was inedible and was alarmed by the lack of medical care. She heard from one person who was in solitary confinement for a month. She says detainees are being careful in how they approach the hunger strike because they told her that facility staff is tracking those participating.
Chu said the lack of medical care is alarming, and that detainees told her that there are more deaths that have occurred that people don’t know about inside the facility. L.A. TACO reported that there have been at least four deaths in ICE custody, and one death following their release from the detention center.
“[T]hese hunger strikers we talked to said that a person could be lying on the ground seizing for half an hour, and nobody will come. It takes that long for anybody to get any medical attention,” said Chu.
She also described how a detainee inside has a cyst on his head that is growing, and that he is not receiving adequate medical attention.
L.A. TACO asked Congresswoman Chu whether an economic boycott was occurring at the facility, as had been reported earlier. She said there is no internal economic boycott within the facility, and that commissary items are the only way some participants are surviving.
The inland community rapid response hotline is used to report any ICE activity in the area, but it is also used by detainees inside the center to request assistance from outside organizations, according to Tamara Marquez from IC4IJ.
Marquez says that last week, they began to notice that the line was cut during calls from the detainees. She says the phone number is widely shared among detainees inside, and that they began having this issue following the hunger strike.
“In my eight years of visiting folks, my last year has been the worst,” said an ordained Baptist minister with the organization Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.
The minister shared that he visited with a Russian woman who was in the United States legally under asylum, after fleeing the mandatory military draft. She was detained during an immigration check-in and separated from her husband, and was told she could only see him if she signed a voluntary deportation notice. The minister says they signed the order and he does not know what happened to the couple.
The minister also shared that he visited with an Iranian woman who suffered weeks from a painful UTI, and received no medical attention for it. He says the woman was also in the country with a valid asylum case.
“This morning as we visited with someone, they shared stories about how their lentils were moving because there were maggots inside them,” he said.
The minister said he’s seen people lose 60 pounds during their time in Adelanto, that the showers are full of algae and mold, and the water pressure is too strong or the water is too hot, resulting in torn skin and reopened wounds.
“The beds are two feet apart, and there are eighty beds in there. So they had a burrito for them, something that they haven’t seen in a long time,” said Eva, the wife of one of the hunger strikers. “ . . . nice burrito, huge burrito on their bed forcing them to stop with the hunger strike.”
L.A. TACO reached out to ICE and GEO Group for comment on these allegations.
This is a developing story. ~ Aisha Wallace-Palomares
RAIDS
[Saturday, May 30, Day 359.]
- Garden Grove: On Ward St and Slater Ave., 8:55 a.m. Confirmed ICE vehicles were seen near the Elk Lodge shelter.
- Fountain Valley: At The Havens apartment complex on 10441 Slater Ave. around 6:50 a.m. Confirmed ICE vehicles and agents were seen at the complex, however, community watchers pressured them out.
[Sunday, May 31, Day 360.]
- Simi Valley: On Royal Ave. and Tapo Canyon Rd., around 9:00 a.m. ICE agents were seen taking a man from his work truck. The vehicle was left abandoned, full of the man’s tools. Uncle of IG @melchapin10.
- City of Industry: At the Industry Sheriff’s Station on 195 Hudson Ave. Masked ICE agents with marked vests were at the station seen taking one person upon release.
- Santa Ana: On Edinger and Standard, around 9:11 a.m. Two confirmed ICE vehicles were seen in the area. Nobody was reported to be detained.
[Monday, June 1, Day 361.]
- San Luis Obispo: At the San Luis Obispo County Jail, around 7:15 a.m. Community watchers who were doing “jail watch” verified with L.A. TACO that three people were taken upon release. According to Indivisible of Cambria, ICE agents later returned in the evening, around 6:45 p.m, and took two more individuals upon release. The community watchers told L.A. TACO this seems to be a surge at the county jail as they were in a “lull” period.
- Mission Viejo: On Country Club Ave., 6:49 a.m. ICE vehicles seen in the area by community watchers.
- Mission Viejo: At the Mosaic Apartment Homes on Camden and Felipe Rd., around 7:30 a.m. Confirmed ICE vehicles were in the area. However, community watchers pressured them out.
- Jurupa Valley: On Mission Blvd. and Mintern St., around 6:00 a.m. Community watchers confirmed that ICE agents took an individual from the area.
- Escondido: On 255 N. Ash St., around 6:00 a.m. Community watchers confirmed that one person was taken.
- San Diego: On 5995 Dandridge Ln. Community watchers stated that ICE agents took an individual from this neighborhood earlier this morning.
- Palm Springs: On Ramon Rd. and Sunrise Way, around 6:47 a.m. A marked Border Patrol vehicle was seen driving around the area.
- San Juan Capistrano: At the CHP Headquarters on 32951 Camino Capistrano, around 9:55 a.m. A confirmed ICE vehicle parked at the headquarters after being followed and legally observed by community watch teams.
AT L.A. TACO
- Tom Steyer Paid Influencers Up To Six Figures For Undisclosed Political Ads Critics Say Are Violating Election Rules
- Demonstrators Hold 24-Hour Fast in Solidarity with Hunger Strike in Adelanto ICE Facilities
- Investigations Newsletter: The Restaurants Feeding L.A’s ‘Most Wanted’ Journalist
- A Completely Interactive Guide To L.A. Voter Guides
IN OTHER ICE-RELATED NEWS
- UC system shared data with CBP violating state law ~ Daily Californian
- Jose Luis won his Habeas Corpus petition and is freed ~ Somos Long Beach
- Three anti-ICE protesters were convicted of federal conspiracy charges ~ New Republic
- Former GEO Group VP David Venturella Is New Interim ICE Chief ~ Democracy Now
- Small town’s lawsuit and fight against federal government taking shape legally ~ The Guardian
GENERAL NEWS
- Meta’s AI support chatbot assists hackers to take over high profile accounts ~ 404 Media
- Growing national trend of Democratic candidates sparring over how they raise money ~ Cap Radio
- 2027 National Defense Authorization Act is an integration of U.S.-Israel defense ~ Responsible Statecraft
- Congress advances U.S.-Israeli military integration plan ~ Al Jezeera
- Who attended this year’s Israel Day Parade in New York? ~ Al Jazeera
- Trump is facing a new inflation warning from the bond market, adding to his midterm challenges ~ AP News
