Detainees have launched a hunger strike in the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center and the Desert View Annex to demand that they receive humane treatment and that the detention center be shut down.
Families and advocates spoke during a virtual press conference about the conditions of the center and the demands. Jacky from the Defend Migrants Alliance, Southern California, and the International Migrant Alliance stated that the demands come directly from the strikers and what they have witnessed. During the strike, they will not eat meals served, buy commissary, or make phone calls.
Several demands she listed include:
- A fair, transparent, and legally justified bond system
- Improved conditions, including remediation of mold, repairing water infrastructure, clean water, functioning facilities, and habitability across all units
- Adequate medical and mental health care
- Nutritious food, a diet that sustains basic physical health
- Accountability for deaths.
“Detainees report attempted suicides inside the facility and seek answers and accountability regarding at least one individual who died in the period shortly following release from Adelanto,” said Jacky. “And their right to organize and communicate, the ability to meet collectively, speak with outside advocates, and communicate with family and the public without interference or retaliation. And the main demand is to shut Adelanto down.”
Eva Huerta spoke during the press conference about her husband, Luis, who is currently in the detention center and participating in the strike. She stated he was first in the Adelanto center for around five months and was transferred to Desert View Annex about two months ago. Huerta spoke about missing him and the stability he brought to their home.
“He always makes things better. I miss him dearly because he was always my motor. I do suffer from hormones and have some depression issues due to the hormones, and he was always there to lift me up, making the bad day good all the time,” said Huerta.
She explained that when she speaks to her husband, he says he’s trying to let the other detainees know that there are people fighting for them, so they don’t give up hope. Huerta asked that, as her husband and others are participating in the strike despite their conditions, community members support them and do what they can from the outside.
“I really ask that you guys acknowledge what these human beings are going through, and that they’re willing to do this to raise their voice,” said Huerta. “Even though their condition’s not good, they’re afraid, they’re intimidated, they’re yelled at, and they’re willing to do that. So I think that we should be willing to do also the same and voice out what they’re going through so that we can stop these places from taking advantage of people.”
Quoc Hoang spoke about his big brother Tom, who was recently detained in Adelanto. He described his big brother as reliable and selfless.
He’s always been that big brother that you can rely on. He’s always been that person in our family that everybody could rely on,” Hoang explained. “He was kind of the peacemaker in our family. He’s always the moderator. When there was trouble in our family, he was the one who held the peace. He’s the one who calmed everybody down. He was always very selfless, gave the jacket off his back to me multiple times when we were younger, to my sisters, to my family.”
Hoang explained that Tom was taken two days before Thanksgiving from a routine check-in in Los Angeles. He stated that when they visited him, it was cold and water was dripping down the walls. If families wanted to give each other anything, it had to fit through a small hole as well.
“It just felt like a terrible place. And a lot of people there didn’t have jackets. They were taken in by surprise. It was cold in there. So, I got the opportunity to give him my jacket off my back that day,” said Hoang.
He continued to say that when his brother was transferred to Adelanto, they saw how horrible a place it was.
“It’s a disgusting place. They don’t treat you like humans there. They don’t treat families like humans. They make up rules all the time. It just depends on who you get there. They’re not there to help people at all. It’s not a humane place. I’ve seen so much mistreatment of people. Just navigating their system is ridiculous. I’ve seen people there all the time just trying to help their loved ones with commissary or simple things, and the staff there are not willing to help them out,” said Hoang.
Hoang stated that when they were going through the process of trying to get his brother released, the staff lied to them and put an additional emotional strain on them. He explained that they were able to get a letter signed by a judge granting his release, and the staff told him, “too bad”.
“They held him there and told him he was not approved to leave, even though the judge had granted it. And it just put so much stress on him, thinking he was supposed to be shipped out,” said Hoang. “So we were preparing everything for him to ship out, but the truth was, he got approved, and a couple days later, he got out. So, it’s been such a tough battle, but the battle is just starting. He is out. He’s with his family. He’s supporting his kids. A few days after he’s out, he’s back to work.”
Sonia Calderon spoke about her younger brother, Jose, who has been in the detention center for about two years. She explained that he has a clean record, is a husband and a father. Before he was detained, he would wake up early to take the kids to school or pick them up, and now the kids don’t understand why their dad isn’t home.
“The change has been very hard. They don’t understand why their dad isn’t there,” said Calderon, emphasizing that two years have been lost for them. “My kids, my nieces, they go to the window, and they say dad is coming home today and they’re just waiting. They just see his car parked out front. But we have faith that he’s gonna be okay.”
She stated that her sister-in-law has been having a hard time without Jose home and that one of the kids’ grades has become “wild,” and the children’s grades are dropping from the trauma of not having their dad. Calderon is relying on her faith in God and trusting that her brother and others will get out.
“I have faith that above all, everyone in there will be liberated and will be able to be with their families again. Because these have been extremely hard times, but I know God is good and he will be able to fix this,” said Calderon.
Caleb Soto, an attorney with the National Day Labor Organizing Network, spoke about the hunger strike, stating it is not the first choice for change.
“Hunger strike is not a first resort. It’s what people do when every other option has been taken from them. I go inside Adelanto every week to sit across from people who risked everything for their and their families’ survival,” said Soto.
He added that the food given in the detention center is not healthy and that there is inadequate medical attention.
“The food they’re given, as you’ve heard, provides almost no nutrition. Medical appointments can take weeks or even months to be approved, and often last 60 seconds, ending with a prescription of Tylenol, Advil, or even a salt packet. People with serious conditions go untreated, and I’ve watched people age in front of me in a matter of months. They are demanding better. The hunger strikers are demanding nutritious food, real medical care, humane conditions, and their rights to demand it,” said Soto.
Soto explained that it is also harder to get people released on bond under the current Administration.
“Currently, the bond system, which is supposed to provide a legal mechanism for release, has been systematically dismantled. The Trump administration declared that anyone who entered without papers was ineligible for bond, regardless of their record, their family, their ties to the community,” said Soto.
He continued to say that, despite the policy being found illegal, Adelanto is still applying it.
“Hundreds of courts found that policy illegal, but ICE and the immigration judges there at Adelanto kept applying it anyway. Discretionary releases have fallen 87 percent, and for those who do get a bond hearing, the average bond is now over $14,000, which is a stark increase from the previous administration,” explained Soto. “A federal court has restored bond hearings for many detainees, but many are still forced to file habeas corpus petitions just to have their detention reviewed by a judge. The people on hunger strike are demanding fair and just bond. They’re demanding to be heard.”
