Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images
A federal judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide "constitutionally adequate healthcare" to immigrants detained at California's largest immigration detention facility.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney mandated that an external monitor be appointed to ensure compliance at the California City Detention Facility, located in the Mojave Desert. The monitor will review medical records and conduct on-site inspections, including interviews with patients and staff, for at least 120 days.
The ruling stems from a federal class-action lawsuit filed in November by seven detainees who alleged medical neglect, unsanitary living conditions, and abusive treatment at the facility, which opened in August 2025.
Judge Chesney's order also requires the government to provide detainees with timely and confidential access to attorneys, temperature-appropriate clothing and blankets at no cost, and access to adequate outdoor recreation spaces for at least one hour daily.
"The government wanted to grind the wheels of justice to a halt and continue its horrifying medical neglect and denial of fundamental needs," said Steven Ragland, a partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters representing the plaintiffs.
The 2,560-bed facility, operated by private prison company CoreCivic under a two-year, $130 million contract with ICE, has faced mounting complaints since opening. By September 2025, detainees had launched a hunger strike protesting conditions.
Ryan Gustin, a CoreCivic spokesman, stated they "work closely with our government partner to ensure we are providing all required services and meeting applicable standards."
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the judge's order "unnecessary and superfluous given DHS's medical policy goes above and beyond." She added, "This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives."
In January, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff conducted an oversight visit of the facility and criticized the inadequacy of medical care there.
The lawsuit was brought by the Prison Law Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, and Keker, Van Nest & Peters.
Dilmer "Loba" Lovos Mendez, who has been in ICE detention for two years, including six months at California City, expressed "deep gratitude for these initial court steps," adding that "people's lives depend on it."
The judge has indicated she will grant the government's request to transfer the case to the Eastern District of California, closer to the detention center, though attorneys for the detainees oppose this plan.