Attorney General Bonta Briefs Court on Inhumane Conditions of Confinement at California City Detention Facility

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in Ruiz v. ICE, who are challenging the unconstitutional conditions of confinement at California City Detention Facility. Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened California City Detention Facility, the largest detention facility in the state, without ensuring it was adequately prepared to receive civil immigration detainees. While inspecting the facility pursuant to its authority under Assembly Bill (AB) 103, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) discovered serious problems with conditions at the facility and a lack of adequate medical care. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta shares with the court DOJ's findings of inadequate healthcare infrastructure and systems, limitations on attorney access, insufficient clothing for excessively cold temperatures, and unsanitary living spaces, among other concerns.

"California City Detention Facility opened before it was ready - and detainees have suffered the consequences," said Attorney General Bonta. "My team inspected this facility last year and discovered shockingly inadequate conditions, from understaffing to a lack of medical care to inhumane living conditions. We are committed to shining a light on conditions at detention facilities across California - and to supporting efforts to hold these facilities accountable to ICE's own detention standards. I urge the Ninth Circuit to uphold the lower court's injunction. These are human beings, and it's the bare minimum that ICE takes steps to ensure they are treated as such."

In November 2025, seven California City detainees filed a class action lawsuit against ICE, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and officials of those agencies in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The detainees allege violations of their constitutional rights, allegations supported by DOJ's inspections of the facility around the same time. During its inspection, DOJ staff found numerous violations of ICE's own detention standards - including the premature opening of the facility without adequate staffing, crisis-level understaffing for healthcare, denial of access to outside medical specialists, exposure of detainees to extremely cold temperatures, rainwater and plumbing leaks into detainees' living quarters, inadequate food, excessively long lockdowns, and a failure to provide detainees with recreational time, among other problems, raising serious concerns about the facility's ability to safely detain a growing population.

In the brief, Attorney General Bonta argues that these violations, documented and reported by DOJ, support the district court's order that ICE and DHS provide facility access to a third-party monitor, ensure detainees' access to counsel, and improve clothing and recreational access for detainees. The Attorney General urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold the preliminary injunction as urgent and necessary corrective action to protect the health and safety of detainees while litigation continues.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to standing up for California's immigrant communities and shining a light on the unacceptable conditions at immigration detention facilities across the state. In May, Attorney General Bonta released the California Department of Justice's fifth report on cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable conditions at immigration detention facilities operating in California. He also filed an amicus brief opposing the conditions of confinement at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in March.

Attorney General Bonta recently sponsored two bills, signed into law, meant to protect and codify the rights of immigrants living in California. The bills, SB 942 (Caballero) and SB 1399 (Durazo) respectively serve to hold detention facilities accountable when they violate detainees' rights and permanently establish mandatory reviews for detention facilities.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta and the County of Santa Clara secured a preliminary injunction blocking the illegal construction of an ICE facility in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County near Gilroy, California. Attorney General Bonta also sent a letter raising serious concerns with an ICE directive to stop investigating and reporting on the deaths of individuals who die within 30 days after being released from ICE custody.

Here is a copy of the brief.