Anthony Victoria
For KVCR News, I’m Anthony Victoria. Today we’re checking back in on conditions inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville. Recent news reports have raised concerns about the treatment and medical care of immigrants detained there. Ryanne Mena with the LA Daily News is here with us to share more about those concerns, including 911 calls from inside the facility and a report on the medical care of a man who died.
Anthony Victoria
Ryanne, thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it, as always.
Ryanne Mena
Thanks for having me.
Anthony Victoria
So, your latest reporting looked at 911 calls from inside Adelanto. What did you learn from those calls about what people are experiencing there?
Ryanne Mena
So, people inside Adelanto are experiencing a wide variety of medical emergencies, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and suicide attempts. There were at least six suicide attempts within a six-month period. Five of those happened in one month between March and April of this year, and at least one of those occurred in solitary confinement. People inside, people detained inside all along, to regularly tell me like, "Hey, there was this medical emergency. Like, this elderly man experienced a seizure, and we haven't seen him. And you know, yesterday someone messaged me and said that there was an overdose in his unit. So, you know, there's just a lot going on inside.
Anthony Victoria
You also reported on an internal ICE report that found that medical staff had repeatedly failed people. In particular, there was a person in detention who later died as a result of this lack of medical support. What does this report tell us about the medical care inside Adelanto?
Ryanne Mena
So this internal report, a mortality review created by ICE's own internal watchdogs, said that Adelanto's medical staff consistently failed 39-year-old Ismail Ayala Uribe before he died, and it said that, you know, there was a number of failings listed in this report, including that medical staff did not consistently respond to his complaints in a timely manner, and that he didn't receive all his medications, but also that the Adelanto facility didn't have enough staffing to adequately care for their patients in that time.
Anthony Victoria
And how has ICE responded to these concerns?
Ryanne Mena
ICE didn't really respond to my exact questions I had about these findings in this report, but an unnamed spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security said that detained people receive comprehensive medical care from the moment a person enters ICE custody, you know what they usually say. And they of course included that line that says, "This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives." Ismael was someone who was in the country since he was four years old.
Anthony Victoria
How frustrating or how heart wrenching is that for you know families like Ismael's and others who are impacted by the conditions?
Ryanne Mena
This report's findings isn't surprising to his family. I spoke to his brother last week about this, and he was like, "it's not shocking." He's happy that this is coming to light, and that it'll hopefully help other people see what's really going on inside Adelanto.
Anthony Victoria
What's happening now when it comes to accountability? Are there any chances for these conditions to actually be addressed or improved? And who's sort of at the forefront of these demands and calls?
Ryanne Mena
So there is a federal lawsuit against ICE stemming from Adelanto that was filed back in January by Public Counsel and a couple other entities, including named plaintiffs, named detained people inside of Adelanto. A judge ordered a preliminary injunction, and ordered a list of immediate improvements to go into effect inside of Adelanto. This was in mid-July, and independent monitors were appointed by the court to see if the facility was actually abiding by these court-mandated improvements. And on Friday, their first monthly report to the court was made publicly available. The appointed conditions monitor, Dr. Kelly Waskow, found that the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to be non-compliant in 10 of the 19 categories listed by the court. Some of her notable findings were that mold was found in the shower day rooms and also live larva.
Anthony Victoria
How is the rise or the expansion of immigration detention impacting Latino neighborhoods and Latino families?
Ryanne Mena
The people I've spoken with who have been directly and indirectly impacted by ICE detention have told me that they're really afraid to go about living their lives, to go outside, going to the grocery store, taking a walk...and that this has created a culture of fear among, like I mentioned, people directly impacted by ICE attention, but also their neighbors, their community members. Some people also told me that they feel guilt for living their lives while people are in ICE detention.
Anthony Victoria
That was Ryanne Mena, reporter with the LA Daily News. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, please call 988. IE Latino Voices is produced with the support of the CIELO Fund at IECF.
