California’s largest ICE facility neglected detainees’ medical needs, monitor finds

Prisoners are seen inside a prison exercise yard at the California City immigration processing center on 25 March 2026. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Prisoners are seen inside a prison exercise yard at the California City immigration processing center on 25 March 2026. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images California’s largest ICE facility neglected detainees’ medical needs, monitor finds Court-appointed investigator finds California City facility failed to comply with judge’s order to provide adequate healthcare California’s largest immigration detention center has failed to comply with a judge’s orders to provide adequate healthcare, according to a court-appointed monitor who found the facility was struggling to meet a wide range of medical standards. The California City detention center, located north-east of Los Angeles, was found to have major flaws in the care it provides residents, including significant gaps in emergency care, failures to provide medications in a timely manner, inadequate screenings for health conditions and a lack of accommodations for people with disabilities. A federal judge had ordered the inquiry in February in response to a lawsuit alleging medical neglect. The judge demanded the government demonstrate it was providing required medical treatment across eight components of California City’s healthcare system. The California City detention facility was out of compliance with all eight areas identified by the judge, said the monitor, Dr Muthusamy Anandkumar, in a report filed with the court on Monday, writing: “The facility lacks a reliable system to consistently provide adequate health care, placing individuals at serious risk of both immediate and long-term harm.” The findings are significant as this is the first court-ordered investigation of the full scope of medical care at any Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the US, according to lawyers for the detained immigrants. The monitor’s conclusions echo some of the significant concerns that residents have raised about conditions and healthcare over the last year. The report comes as the Trump administration is arresting a record number of immigrants , with more than 65,000 people in ICE detention as of 11 July, prompting growing concerns across the country about overcrowding and dangerous and potentially deadly conditions in custody. Anandkumar suggested the failings were structural, writing: “This pattern indicates broader problems in the facility’s health care delivery system rather than occasional lapses in care.” The case originated with a class-action lawsuit filed in November , brought by seven detained plaintiffs who alleged “life-threatening” problems with healthcare. The complaint included claims the facility was denying cancer treatment, regular insulin for diabetes and basic disability accommodations. In her February order , US judge Maxine Chesney outlined the areas of the system that ICE needed to ensure we