A leading organizer of Adelanto hunger strike is deported to Belize

Later this week will mark one month since the ongoing hunger strike at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center began, and as of now, one of the leading organizers of the strike has been deported.

Kyon Shakeel Swaso, a leading organizer of the ongoing hunger strike, was deported to Belize after a series of unlawful transfers to various detention facilities in Texas and Louisiana. 

The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), which represented Swaso, said he had met with U.S. Reps. Judy Chu, Pete Aguilar and Jimmy Gomez during a congressional visit to the detention center on June 1, 2026, just days before his deportation. 

That same day, a petition signed by 150 detained people within Adelanto ICE prison was given to the elected officials detailing the poor conditions in the center located in San Bernardino County.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Swaso’s deportation on Friday, June 12. 

A spokesperson for the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice told CALÒ News on Monday, June 15, that Swaso’s bank accounts have been frozen and that community organizations are teaming up to secure funds for him now that he is in Belize. 

Prior to his deportation, on June 10, Swaso had been transferred out from California without notice to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas and again to the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, where two detainees died in the last two months. 

According to the Central District Court General Order No. 26-05, the government must provide at least two court days’ notice to the petitioner, their counsel and the court of its intent to remove the petitioner from California. 

ImmDef said neither the court, Swaso, nor his attorney ever received notice of the transfers. 

Before his deportation, Swaso issued the following statement:

“The treatment in detention is political. It trickles down from the president to the agencies. Despite everything we are facing, people here continue to support one another and stand together in unity.” 

“We want this place shut down and we want to be released. Every detention facility needs to be closed because they are not following procedures. Our due process rights are being violated. They are using taxpayer dollars to abuse immigrants. The things they say publicly do not match what we are living through. People here cannot get proper medical care, cannot afford attorneys, cannot pay bond, and many feel forced to give up and sign deportation paperwork. We are being treated like animals,” he stated.

Via email, DHS told the L.A. Times that Swaso was issued a final order of removal and therefore transferred to another facility as part of his removal proceedings.

As reported by the L.A. Times, the DHS spokesperson said Swaso, who entered the country on a tourist visa and overstayed in 2019, had been accused of various crimes, including felony aggravated assault of a police officer and possession of firearms and drugs.

ImmDef said they were aware of small drug charges against Swaso, which have been removed through post-conviction relief, and that he has no other convictions. 

Esmeralda Santos, lead organizer at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said Swaso’s deportation represents a disturbing attempt to silence firsthand accounts of conditions inside immigrant detention centers. 

“Meaningful due process, transparency, and respect for human dignity are impossible when the federal government continues to separate people from their communities and remove them from public view. We call on ICE and all responsible officials to be held accountable for policies that undermine fundamental human rights and oversight,” she said. 

As of today, DHS continues to deny a hunger strike is taking place at Adelanto and has said that no one was being abused at the facility, which has been the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit.

At least four people have died at the Adelanto facility, and at least 50 people have reportedly died in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office.