This article was initially published by CalMatters. Subscribe for their newsletters.
Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff conducted an oversight visit last week at California’s largest and newest immigrant detention center, located in California City, approximately 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
During the press briefing, both senators underscored what they termed the insufficient medical care available at the facility.
“The most common feedback we received was regarding the inadequacy of medical care provided,” Schiff stated. He recounted meeting a diabetic detainee who has reportedly not received treatment for her condition in two months. “That’s alarming,” he remarked.
Currently, over 1,400 individuals are detained at the California City Detention Facility, operated by the for-profit company CoreCivic in the Mojave Desert. It was opened in late August under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and can accommodate up to 2,560 detainees.
Previously, CoreCivic operated the facility as a state prison. The Newsom administration terminated the contract in 2024 when several state prisons were closed due to California’s declining incarcerated population.
“They will need to adopt significant changes to meet the medical needs of the population here, especially if they plan to add another 1,000 detainees,” Padilla added.
Schiff mentioned individuals describing foul-smelling water and one detainee noting a moldy sandwich. Both senators emphasized that many individuals are being held in prison-like conditions despite their status as civil immigration offenders.
“This is not a prison, regardless of the surroundings, so we must also be concerned about mental health services,” Padilla remarked. “The experience of being detained, along with the threat of deportation, can be traumatic for the individual and their extended families.”
Schiff noted that many individuals he spoke with were arrested during their immigration appointments. “They were following the steps to become citizens or to establish lawful presence, and at those appointments, they were detained and separated from their families,” he explained.
He also recounted meeting an Afghan man who had assisted U.S. military forces and feared for his life if sent back to Afghanistan due to the Taliban. “They are attempting to deport him back to Afghanistan. He was offered alternatives like Sudan and other locations where he has no connections. These are the stories we’re hearing,” Schiff said.
Before entering the facility, Schiff and Padilla stated that their inspection aimed to “address complaints and queries from constituents about detainee conditions” and to “gain firsthand knowledge of the facility.”
“On the anniversary of the second Trump administration, we already see some defining traits of his term: the cruelty and aggressive mass deportation policies,” Padilla commented.
“This inspection is a crucial aspect of our oversight,” Schiff stated. “We have been engaging with constituents either currently detained or previously detained here, and they’ve described deteriorating conditions.”
Democrats Seek to Visit ICE Facilities
Congress members are legally permitted to conduct impromptu inspections of immigration detention centers, but a spokesman for Padilla indicated the visit was arranged beforehand.
In July, House Democrats initiated legal action against the administration over a policy mandating seven days’ prior notice for visits, arguing this violated federal law. In December 2025, federal Judge Jia Cobb issued a temporary injunction against the seven-day notice rule while the case remains before the court.
Following a violent incident involving an immigration officer in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a memorandum on January 8 re-establishing the seven-day notice requirement. On January 19, Cobb declined to block this newly reinstated policy, asserting that the January 8 directive constituted a “new agency action” requiring a distinct legal challenge.
When President Donald Trump took office last year, around 40,000 individuals were in immigration detention nationwide. By early December, this figure had surged by nearly 75%, with approximately 66,000 individuals in immigration detention across the country, and the system potentially housing 70,000 individuals on any given day—the highest level in U.S. history, according to government statistics.
California’s Oversight
In a recent statement, the California Attorney General’s office flagged “dangerous conditions” at the California City facility. In a December 19 letter to Noem, attorney Michael Newman expressed that the California Department of Justice has “serious concerns about the facility’s conditions and the insufficiency of adequate medical care,” following an inspection of the facility.
Attorney General Rob Bonta mentioned that the facility “opened too soon and was ill-equipped to cater to the needs of the incoming population.”
Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, previously told CalMatters that the facility provides comprehensive medical and mental health care, including round-the-clock availability of these services. He asserted that these provisions align with “the standards established by our governmental partners.”
“There are no delays in residents receiving their prescribed medications,” Gustin affirmed.
In November, detainees at the facility filed a lawsuit, claiming that the facility suffers from sewage leaks and insect infestations, and that detainees are unable to secure adequate medical care for critical health issues.
CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that brings California residents stories addressing quality of life issues while overseeing accountability among leaders.
