Several people arrested in federal immigration sweeps across Southern California this week are now being held at the Adelanto Detention Facility. Immigration advocates trying to reach them say the scene there has been disorganized and difficult to navigate.
Days after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in the Greater Los Angeles area, Democratic members of Congress, attorneys and activists are still trying to confirm whether people are being held at Adelanto and locate others detained in the sweeps.
Paralegals and attorneys say the ICE facility operated by private prison company GEO Group has been disorganized when they’ve tried to reach clients. Benjamin Wood, the legal director with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (IC4IJ), shared that he and another colleague went to the facility around 11 a.m. Monday.
“It was a little surreal, not like it normally is,” said Wood. “We were trying to wait around to see if we could get in, but they were telling us we're gonna be there waiting for a long time. So, come 5:30 we decided to just try again until next week.”
Wood believes the added number of immigrant detainees at the facility will only add to the disorganization.
“It's going to be chaotic for the people getting arrested and their families, but they're going to have to be very patient,” said Wood. “and know their rights.”
Eva Bitran, an attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, said she was in Adelanto on Sunday. She said she waited about three and a half hours to meet with two women who were arrested in the LA enforcement operations.
“One of whom spent four days at the basement detention facility before being transferred to Adelanto,” she said. “We are hearing that some loved ones are getting phone calls from inside the facility, but it's been really, really hard to reach people.”
Bitran says she’s concerned undocumented immigrants are being pressured into self-deporting and accuses the agency of violating their due process.
“The arrest tactics were unlawful. The detention practices are unlawful,” said Bitran. “There are real problems here, from top to bottom.”
ICE confirmed this week Adelanto is being used for some detainees, but did not say how many. GEO Group, which operates the facility, said in a statement Tuesday that Adelanto, “plays an important role in helping ICE fulfill their mission.”
