Representative Norma Torres of Pomona has asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state Health and Human Services Agency to increase inspections at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The request aims to ensure compliance with a recent federal court order requiring better medical care, disability accommodations and daily living conditions at the site.

The letter comes after U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes directed immediate changes at the facility, which is managed by the GEO Group under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal officials have stated that the center already meets required standards, yet detainees and their attorneys continue to describe ongoing violations and substandard treatment, according to LAist.

Torres noted that state law empowers the California Department of Justice to examine immigration detention facilities and grants county health officers authority to inspect private sites. She described these tools as underused and pointed to federal statements claiming adequate conditions as evidence that oversight from Washington is insufficient.

A May 2026 report by the California Department of Justice examined seven civil immigration detention facilities and found declining conditions during the second Trump administration. At Adelanto, the population rose rapidly from three people to 1,570 by mid-2025, outpacing medical and detention staffing and leading to delays in health screenings and treatment.

Inspectors documented additional problems including inconsistent meal times with undercooked food, shortages of clean drinking water and uses of force that involved pepper spray. The report also recorded four deaths at Adelanto between September 2025 and March 2026, which it linked to inadequate medical care.

Esmeralda Santos of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice said her group wants the state to move beyond producing reports. She stated that repeated findings show Adelanto is unsuitable for holding people, yet the information has not produced accountability, and called for inspections to be paired with enforcement measures.

This report is based on coverage by LAist: https://laist.com/news/politics/adelanto-detention-norma-torres-california-inspections