Pasadena-Area Congresswoman Leads Delegation to Investigate ICE Facility Conditions

Congresswoman Judy Chu of Pasadena led a congressional delegation Tuesday that gained access to the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center, uncovering what lawmakers describe as alarming detention conditions.

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center is a privately-operated immigration detention facility located in Adelanto, California, near Victorville. It is operated by the GEO Group under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Chu, representing California’s 28th Congressional District which includes Altadena and Pasadena, was joined by four other California representatives in conducting congressional oversight at the facility. The lawmakers found the center, which housed 300 individuals last month, is now at full capacity with 1,100 detainees.

“While I’m relieved that we were ultimately allowed into the Adelanto facility, as is our legal right as Members of Congress, this visit only reinforced how much work remains,” Chu said. “The conditions many of these people are facing are inhumane. The detainees told me that they have gone days without changing their clothes, and they have been unable to use the telephone to call their families or a legal representative.”

The delegation’s visit followed reports of unlawful immigration raids and allegations that U.S. citizens may have been wrongfully detained. Representatives described the facility’s conditions as severe, with detainees experiencing limited access to basic necessities.

Rep. Linda Sánchez characterized the immigration raids as “racial profiling,” stating that the administration is “deliberately hiding the truth: immigrants, some here legally, are being detained in inhumane conditions, without enough food, clean clothing, the ability to call their families or access to a lawyer.”

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove highlighted specific concerns, including detainees being “forced to wear the same clothes for ten days. Individuals lacking access to drinking water and medical care. Meals every fourteen hours.”

Rep. Mark Takano noted that simply allowing congressional access does not excuse “inflammatory tactics to meet deportation quotas,” emphasizing that accountability requires “a consistent pattern of accessibility.”

Rep. Luz Rivas stressed that the conditions prove “Donald Trump’s policies are putting our most vulnerable in harm’s way,” particularly noting concerns about those “detained for lawfully seeking asylum” and being cut off from communication with family and counsel.

The lawmakers pledged to continue monitoring the facility and working with local and federal officials to ensure due process for all individuals, regardless of immigration status.