The largest immigration detention center in California \u201clacks a reliable system to consistently provide adequate health care, placing individuals at serious risk of both immediate and long-term harm,\u201d according to a report issued this week by a court-appointed monitor.<\/p>\n
In his report, Dr. Muthusamy Anandkumar, a physician with extensive experience as a medical monitor in immigration detention facilities, state prisons and county jails, cited \u201ca recurring pattern of delayed identification of patient needs, delayed or missed assessments, delayed or inadequate treatment, missed or delayed medication administration, and gaps in follow-up care\u201d at the California City Detention Facility in the Mojave Desert.<\/p>\n
According to the report, Anandkumar interviewed more than a dozen staff and 40 patients, conducted a three-day site inspection and reviewed 141 patient medical records and thousands of pages of documents produced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic, the private prison company operating the facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis pattern indicates broader problems in the facility\u2019s health care delivery system rather than occasional lapses in care,\u201d Anandkumar said in his report.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney appointed Anandkumar to ensure compliance with her February order<\/a> that ICE provide \u201cconstitutionally adequate healthcare\u201d at the detention center. <\/p>\n Chesney\u2019s ruling stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed last year by several advocacy nonprofits and law firms \u2014 the Prison Law Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice and Keker, Van Nest & Peters \u2014 which alleged inhumane conditions at the detention center, including inadequate food, water and medical care.<\/p>\n Tess Borden, a lawyer with the Prison Law Office, said it was the first time a court had appointed an independent, neutral party to review the full scope of healthcare provided at an ICE detention center. <\/p>\n \u201cThe system failures that [Anandkumar] points to are not just endemic of the system at California City, but the system of immigration detention nationally,\u201d Borden said.<\/p>\n Similar complaints have been raised by detainees at detention centers across the country. Earlier this month<\/a>, a federal judge ordered the government to immediately overhaul conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and instructed the immigration agency to provide access to a qualified, independent third-party monitor who would focus on the systems for medical care and disability accommodations.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A former agency spokesperson previously called Chesney\u2019s order \u201cunnecessary and superfluous given DHS\u2019s medical policy goes above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,\u201d the spokesperson said in February. \u201cEnsuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n The former prison turned detention center has faced a growing number of complaints since it opened in August, as the Trump administration pushed to expand detention<\/a> capacity nationwide.<\/p>\n In his report, Anandkumar said staff reported that, when the facility opened, \u201cit was intended to house individuals in good health.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIn practice, however, the facility received a large volume of patients, including patients with complex medical conditions, and the medical team was not adequately prepared to manage this population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Anandkumar said the facility \u201cdoes not appear to have adequate staffing, stable on-site management, sufficient clinical and operational oversight, or an effective quality assurance process to identify and promptly address care-related problems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese elements are necessary to manage the health care needs of this patient population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n