By Vanguard Staff
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta has formally warned the Department of Homeland Security that the state’s newest and largest immigration detention center opened without the staffing, infrastructure or medical capacity necessary to safely house the hundreds of people now confined there.
In a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and senior officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mr. Bonta described the California City Detention Facility as a site plagued by incomplete records, inadequate medical care, staff inexperience and unsafe living conditions. The inspection, conducted by the California Department of Justice under the authority of Assembly Bill 103, found that the center began operating several months before it was prepared to meet even basic standards.
“Everyone has a right to dignity, safety, and respect,” Mr. Bonta said in announcing the findings. “Earlier this year, we reported on unsafe and inadequate conditions at immigration detention facilities across California. We also raised concerns that these conditions would only worsen under an influx of new demand.” He added, “Unfortunately, because of the President’s inhumane mass deportation agenda, many of these concerns have come to pass. My team has seen and heard first-hand the dangerous conditions at California’s newest detention facility — conditions that violate ICE’s own standards. I implore DHS to take action to address these serious issues.”
The letter states that the facility “opened abruptly without being prepared for all areas of facility operations to perform adequately,” and asserts that “the United States has a legal duty to assure the safety of these detainees, and the contractor it has retained to execute this duty is manifestly not meeting a minimum standard of care for them.”
California City Detention Facility, operated by CoreCivic, began accepting detainees in late August. According to the letter, key positions remained vacant months later, including medical staff. Inspectors noted that a single assistant warden was carrying out multiple supervisory duties, including oversight of grievances and compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
The report describes inexperienced staff lacking basic training in civil detention management. Detainees told inspectors they were “being treated like criminal inmates as opposed to civil detainees” and that conditions were “inferior in most respects compared to other detention facilities in California.”
The inspection raised alarms about due process as well. According to the letter, detainees had limited access to confidential legal calls and were at times restricted to monitored housing-unit telephones, conditions that could impede their ability to pursue immigration claims and prepare for removal hearings. Intake documentation was incomplete, and the facility’s processing area was deemed too small to handle expected population increases.
The letter details accounts of leaks from rainwater and plumbing, as well as housing units kept at extremely low temperatures. Inspectors reported that people confined there lacked proper clothing and blankets and said they risked disciplinary write-ups if they attempted to block vents.
Health care was described as insufficient and potentially dangerous. The facility has only one physician, who the letter says is “overburdened and always on call,” leading to triage rather than comprehensive assessment. Staff told inspectors they were behind on required medical evaluations, and detainees said written requests for care were not addressed unless the situation had become an emergency.
Women reported a lack of basic supplies for reproductive health. In addition, female detainees did not have regular access to outdoor recreation space, and when they did, the only available area was “full of weeds and has no usable equipment.”
Inspectors reported limited recreation overall, with counts lasting as long as 90 minutes and some individuals confined in their housing units for up to 23 or 24 hours a day. The report also noted that religious dietary needs were not consistently met, and detainees described instances in which religious headwear had been confiscated.
The letter argues that these conditions collectively represent violations of the National Detention Standards. It quotes the standards themselves as requiring detainees be “treated humanely; protected from harm; provided appropriate medical and mental health care; and receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled.”
“These conditions,” the letter concludes, “constitute numerous violations of the NDS 2025,” and emphasizes that CoreCivic, as the government’s contractor, is obligated to comply with them. It urges DHS to intervene and bring the facility into compliance, noting that the federal government’s responsibility extends not only to enforcing immigration policy but to ensuring the health and safety of those placed in its custody.
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