A federal judge has granted, in part, a preliminary injunction ordering the government to immediately remedy unconstitutional conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and provisionally certified a class action on behalf of everyone detained at the facility. The injunction and class certification order were sought by individuals represented by Public Counsel, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in their class action lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes of the Central District of California, finds that the government is likely violating the constitutional rights of people detained at Adelanto, a facility privately operated by the GEO Group in the California high desert that holds nearly 1,500 people awaiting civil immigration proceedings. At least four people have died in ICE custody while detained at Adelanto since September 2025, and many families say their loved ones’ medical needs were delayed or ignored while detained.
The court’s order requires the facility to immediately provide basic necessities, including clean drinking water, adequate food and sanitation, privacy in restrooms and showers, temperature-appropriate clothing and bedding, and daily outdoor recreation. It also limits headcounts, restricts administrative segregation to documented security concerns or a detainee’s own request, and orders Defendants to file a remedial plan within 14 days addressing medical care and disability accommodations facility-wide.
Two independent monitors will oversee compliance through unannounced inspections and monthly public reports, and detainees will have a confidential grievance system to reach them directly. Defendants are barred from retaliating against anyone who raises concerns or participates in the case.
The court also provisionally certified an “Adelanto Class” of all people who are now, or in the future will be, detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, as well as a “Disability Subclass” of class members with disabilities within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act, for purposes of the preliminary injunction. Public Counsel, ImmDef, CHIRLA, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher were provisionally appointed as class counsel.
Know Your Rights
Download our bilingual Know Your Rights guide explaining the protections required by the court order and how to report violations or retaliation: Download the Guide
The group filed suit in January 2026, challenging a detention system described as cruel, inhumane, and degrading—one where people are denied critical medical care and disability accommodations, subject to punitive isolation, and forced to live in unsanitary conditions. The motion for a preliminary injunction was supported by more than two dozen sworn declarations from current and formerly detained individuals, legal advocates, and medical and corrections experts. Together, they painted a portrait of systematic neglect: people with serious medical conditions going weeks without medication or care, food described as rotten and inedible, dirty drinking water, mold on the walls, and a pattern of retaliation against detained people who spoke up.
The ruling does not resolve the underlying case, but requires the government to act immediately to remedy these conditions while the litigation continues.
Public Counsel believes that everyone—regardless of income, immigration status, or background—deserves due process, dignity, and basic human decency. Those rights don’t change because someone is in detention. We are proud to stand with our co-counsel, our clients, and all the people who had the courage to come forward and tell a federal court what was happening to them inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
- Read the order here.
- For more on L.T. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, click here.
