LOS ANGELES (LN) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta released a report Friday detailing worsening conditions at immigration detention facilities. The California Department of Justice’s fifth report on conditions at facilities operating under contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement found that overcrowding and strained resources have led to substandard medical care and unsanitary living conditions across all seven facilities inspected in 2025.
The detainee population grew from 2,303 of DOJ’s 2023 site visits to 6,028 of 2025 site visits, according to the report.
Bonta attributed the surge to the Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign and its refusal to release detainees on bond.
“The Trump Administration’s mass deportation campaign has led to a shocking increase in detainee populations — and facilities have been alarmingly unprepared to meet this new demand,” Bonta said in a statement. “This is cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable — and it is past time for the Trump Administration to do something about it.”
The report documented multiple violations of ICE’s own detention standards, including inadequate medical care, excessive use of force by guards, and failure to provide basic necessities.
DOJ staff interviewed 194 detained individuals and reviewed logs, policies, and records during inspections of the seven facilities active in 2025, including the recently opened California City Detention Facility.
The report noted that six detainees died between September 2025 and March 2026, the highest number since DOJ began conducting reviews in 2017.
At the Adelanto facility, where four of those deaths occurred, the detainee population increased from 7 in 2023 to 1,570 by early July 2025, while medical and detention staffing levels failed to meet the needs of the surge.
Detainees reported waiting days or weeks for classification and medical screening, with some sleeping on the floor without access to water or clothing.
Other findings included improperly cooked food, failure to provide dietary accommodations, and issues with accessing clean potable water.
At Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde, detainees reported spending approximately $50 to $150 per week on commissary items to satisfy their hunger.
At California City, detainees described experiencing extremely cold temperatures and leaks during rainy periods, with some modifying socks to improvise sleeves and covering air vents with paper.
The report also highlighted due process barriers, including denied access to facility phones and language barriers impeding detainees’ ability to understand facility rules.
Bonta has previously filed an amicus brief opposing conditions at Adelanto and sponsored Senate Bill 1399 to remove the sunset provision of Assembly Bill 103, which requires DOJ to review and report on conditions through July 1, 2027.
Bonta also announced his sponsoring of Senate Bill 941, which would prohibit the excessive markup of products sold at immigration detention facilities.
DOJ’s Office of Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement will host a community briefing on June 9 to share the findings of the report.