Three of the five districts that make up Kern County are home to large Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, both privately and publicly owned. The largest detention facility in the entire state is located in California City, which was recently sold to the federal government.

In a political era where the Supreme Court of the United States has essentially made it permissible for ICE agents to racially profile and detain any person without proper cause, according to Noem v. Perdomo (2025), it is important that our county leaders do their due diligence to ensure that the basic needs of detainees are being met.

Our county government cannot change federal policy decisions; however, it can use the powers granted by California Senate Bill 1132 to do more for every person who currently resides within its jurisdiction.

In a piece published by The Guardian in February of this year, Cecilia Nowell explains that the detention center in California City has been sued by seven detainees who alleged they were denied access to crucial medications, legal aid, and even blankets. In response to the suit, Maxine M. Chesney, a federal district judge, ordered that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE provide detainees with timely access to legal aid, medications, and adequate health care staffing.

The judge also requested that the federal government provide access to an independent third party for health inspections, interviews with staff and detainees, and a review of medical records.

Why This Matters

During the June 16 Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting, more than 15 county and state residents voiced concerns about the current state of the California City Detention Facility and the people being held there. A number of the speakers work with local community organizations and have had conversations with detainees. Some have also helped get them the aid they need that DHS and ICE have failed to provide.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, speakers recounted some of the stories they had been told and urged the board members to use their authority to ensure the health and safety of all people in Kern County.

Nora Zaragoza explained that there are ongoing reports of worsening unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and a rising number of deaths occurring in the different ICE facilities located in Kern County. She also alleged that pregnant women in the California City facility are “being pressured to take abortion pills, if they are in fact pregnant.”

Zaragoza argued that, in response to these reports and allegations, the Board of Supervisors should revise the proposed county budget to give the Public Health Department the necessary funds to conduct investigations of the California City facility and other ICE facilities.

Jeanie Parent, a member of the nonprofit organization Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrants (KWESI), recounted the experiences of a woman who had rats in her cell that ate her food. This was food she was only able to purchase with KWESI’s help and was not already provided by the government.

Parent stated, “This is why we need the public health department to do an immediate investigation of this [California City] facility.”

She also stated that “detained individuals only get hot water in the morning; their hot water is shut off at 10 a.m. Also, chronic medical neglect. People have hernias that are not attended to. They have diabetes; they’re not given medication for their diabetes, hypertension, anemia.” She followed this by stating, “Where is the public health department?”

Parent also noted that there is little shade in the yard despite the record-breaking heat in Kern County and that several units of detainees are outside at once, further limiting access to shade. She also said there has been flooding in the facility during rainy weather that detainees had to mop up themselves.

Other speakers said they have received complaints from detainees about their medical needs being neglected, including not being given access to essential medications for life-threatening health conditions, such as diabetes.

All of these instances of alleged medical neglect that speakers raised during their time addressing the board make it clear that a thorough inspection of the health and wellness of detainees is needed.

At a more recent meeting, it was noted that inspections have been conducted at the different ICE facilities in Kern County. However, in every case, inspectors failed to interview detainees, review medical records, or evaluate the clinical care they had been given. Therefore, the results of these inspections are extremely misleading because they did not include the aspects of care that speakers identified as the most problematic.

In a county where more than 50% of residents are Hispanic or Latino and more than 20% are foreign-born, having ICE facilities that are alleged to medically neglect detainees and deny them consistent access to the most basic amenities is horrifying. The unfortunate truth is that our county leadership has both the right and the ability to require a public health inspection of these facilities. Yet, it has not done enough.

This authority, granted through California Senate Bill 1132, allows the county health officer to conduct, at minimum, an annual medical and health inspection of privately and publicly owned detention centers and other facilities. This is especially important because the California City ICE facility was recently sold by CoreCivic to the federal government, meaning the detention facility is now publicly owned.

Under this legislation, the county health officer can also conduct inspections at any time they determine necessary. Under Section (b) of this bill, the sheriff or local legislative body — in this case, the Kern County Board of Supervisors — may also request that the county health officer conduct medical and health inspections. Under Section (c), the county health officer “shall determine if the food, clothing, and bedding is of sufficient quantity and quality,” in accordance with other state and federal policies governing those housed in jails, prisons, and private or public detention facilities.

This bill does not allow county leadership to enforce regulations; however, it is the first step in the process of forcing the federal government to take accountability for the atrocities being committed at the behest of the current administration. We cannot control the installation of such facilities in our county; however, as residents, we have every right to demand that our county leadership take action.

Carter Beardsley, another local resident who spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting, proclaimed that we must recognize this administration will not last forever. Beardsley argued that our Board of Supervisors has the power to at least call for better conditions in the ICE facilities on behalf of their constituents.

He stated, “When history catches up to us and asks us, ‘What happened when there were people dying at the hands of these detention facilities? What did you do?'” His question was directed at the Board of Supervisors, but it was also a call to action for every Kern County resident: What can we do?

More specifically, we can urge County Health Officer Kristopher Lyon to conduct an inspection of the detention centers in our backyards. We can also ask the Board of Supervisors to request that Lyon conduct inspections and allocate more of the county’s annual budget to the Department of Public Health and Safety so that these inspections are financially feasible, especially given that board members have discussed increasing the budget for other departments despite the continued urging from community members who want to see those funds allocated elsewhere.