CALIFORNIA — The California Department of Justice on Friday, May 15, 2026, released a 175-page report finding that overcrowding and insufficient medical care at privately run immigrant detention facilities in the state have produced inhumane and unacceptable conditions. The report concluded that the private companies operating the centers and the federal agency overseeing them are failing to meet their own standards of care.

State justice department staff, along with correctional and healthcare experts, toured all seven immigrant detention facilities that existed in California in 2025. The investigative team analyzed internal documents and detainee records, and interviewed detention staff and 194 detainees from more than 120 countries. All immigrant detention centers in California are managed by private companies under federal contracts.

The detainee population in California increased by 162%, from 2,300 in 2023 to more than 6,000 in 2025, against a combined facility capacity of nearly 8,200. Most detainees had no criminal history and were classified as low-security. Inspectors found that staffing levels did not keep pace with the growing number of detainees, particularly at the Adelanto and California City facilities, leading to crisis-level healthcare understaffing. At the California City facility, which opened in a former state prison in 2025, there was only one physician for nearly 1,000 detainees at the time of inspection.

"This is the federal government paying for-profit, private companies to run these detention centers, and they are running these detention centers with inhumane, cruel, and unacceptable conditions." California Attorney General Rob Bonta said California is the only state with a law requiring oversight and public reports on immigrant detention facility conditions.

Six people have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in California since the start of 2025: four at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and two at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility. In all four Adelanto deaths, family members alleged that the facility's medical response was inadequate. At the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, medical care delays were widespread, including delays in specialty care and referrals caused by ICE Health Service Corps approval delays and canceled or dropped referrals due to transfers between facilities.

New detainees are supposed to receive medical and mental health screening within 12 hours of arrival. The report found that detainees at several facilities reported waiting days or weeks before receiving housing assignments and medical screening, and that some slept on the floor without access to water while waiting. CoreCivic did not provide investigators with requested documents, including records on use of force at the California City facility, where staff allegedly deployed pepper spray, hit a detainee with riot shields while holding him down with their knees on his back, and aggressively pushed another detainee.

"The safety, health and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care is our top priority." CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin said the company's ICE-contracted facilities are subject to multiple layers of oversight by government partners and auditors.

"No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States," Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said. "This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives. Meals are certified by dietitians. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE."