Opinion: A visit to the Adelanto immigration facility reveals it is at full capacity once again

June 20th is World Refugee Day, a time to recognize the strength and resilience of people who have been forced to flee their home countries due to war, violence, or persecution. This year, however, also marks a troubling milestone: it’s been six months since the Trump administration issued a refugee ban through executive order. A decision that has left thousands of approved refugees stranded in dangerous conditions across the globe.

In addition to the refugee ban, other executive orders have had severe consequences for immigrant communities. The termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of long-term U.S. residents who are our neighbors, co-workers and classmates has placed them at risk of deportation.  These policies have also emboldened a wave of abusive and unchecked ICE enforcement operations spreading fear across communities nationwide.

This week, a friend and I visited the Adelanto immigrant detention center to check on Mubarak, an asylum seeker we’ve known for seven years. The urgency of his situation and many others can not be overstated. Once again, the Adelanto immigration facility is at full capacity.  

Mubarak, (a pseudonym to protect his identity from retaliation) was detained during a routine ICE check-in this past April. Two weeks ago he and others were transferred from the Desert View Annex facility to the Adelanto ICE processing center. The men’s unit alone houses 1,280 detainees in 16 overcrowded dorms.  Immigrants are being flown in from all over the country; just last week around 200 Cubans arrived from Florida. 

Tensions are high. The facility is short on many things, including uniforms and personnel. Mubarak shared, “I do not have access to my meds in this facility, nor do I want to ask for it because it will cause stress on the overworked guards.” His words are a chilling reminder that what we are witnessing is not only mismanagement but a humanitarian crisis.  

This crisis should sound the alarm for advocates across the state, specially those who have worked tirelessly to dismantle California’s carceral economies and end for-profit detention. California has led efforts to pass landmark legislation intended to protect immigrants from this kind of exploitation, including; 

• SB 54 – California Values Act (signed Oct 5, 2017; took effect in January  2018): Prohibits state/local law enforcement from using resources to assist federal immigration enforcement, except for serious/violent offenders.

• AB 32 (2019): Began phasing out private for‑profit immigrant detention centers in California; in January 2020, the GEO Group and the U.S. Department of Justice sued California, and now AB 32 remains operative, but its immigration-related enforcement is blocked.

• AB 3133 (2020): Affirms California that welcomes refugees regardless of race, religion or orientation.

You can read more on these laws and others at gov.ca.gov.

Despite these protections, as UC Riverside Assistant Professor Cecilia Vasquez has said, “Exploitation of the people happens because the state continues not to see the full humanity of the people.” Your advocacy and support are crucial in this fight.

The Trump administration’s policies have not only emboldened corporate profiteering from incarceration, but have proposed to further fund it. In the administration’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” $175 billion is earmarked for expanded immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations, paid for by our tax dollars. 

This is not only a moral and human rights concern, it’s an economic one. Immigrants are the backbone of California’s economy, a truth long supported by data. These enforcement tactics are ripping families apart, destabilizing communities and jeopardizing the state’s social and economic health.

The fact remains: immigrants stand a better chance of navigating their legal cases when they are home, surrounded by family and community support, not locked away in remote detention centers. 

The continued expansion of these for-profit facilities must be stopped. We owe it to people like Mubarak, and to the values we claim to uphold.