A federal judge this week ordered ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to provide \u201cconstitutionally adequate healthcare\u201d to people detained in California\u2019s newest and largest immigration detention center.<\/p>\n
In her Tuesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney also required an external monitor be appointed to ensure compliance, including through review of medical records and on-site inspection and interviews with patients and staff at the California City Detention Facility in the Mojave Desert.<\/p>\n
Chesney ordered the government to provide detainees with timely and confidential access to attorneys, temperature-appropriate clothing and blankets free of charge and access to adequate outdoor recreation spaces for at least an hour a day.<\/p>\n
The ruling comes in the case of seven detainees who in November filed a federal class-action lawsuit<\/a> in the Northern District of California against Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleging medical neglect, unsanitary living conditions and abusive treatment by the staff at the facility, which opened in August.<\/p>\n Ryan Gustin, a spokesman for CoreCivic, which operates the facility, said they \u201cwork closely with our government partner to ensure we are providing all required services and meeting applicable standards.\u201d<\/p>\n Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the judge\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 McLaughlin said. \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 lawsuit was brought by the Prison Law Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice and Keker, Van Nest & Peters. <\/p>\n \u201cThe government wanted to grind the wheels of justice to a halt and continue its horrifying medical neglect and denial of fundamental needs like warm clothes and blankets, and meaningful access to attorneys to the more than one thousand souls languishing at this facility,\u201d Steven Ragland, a Keker, Van Nest & Peters partner representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are incredibly grateful that the Court appreciated the immediate, irreparable harm individuals at California City face and ordered meaningful relief.\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 At the time, the city manager warned CoreCivic \u201cthat the building is unsafe and violates the fire code because its construction prevents radio signals from transmitting from key areas,\u201d the lawsuit pointed out.<\/p>\n By the next month, immigrants inside the 2,500-capacity facility had launched a hunger strike<\/a> protesting conditions. <\/p>\n