For Yuliana Rico Chavez, immigration fears are part of her family’s everyday reality.

“Both my family and I are scared and that has a lot to do with who I’m going to vote for and where I stand right now,” said the 19-year-old business major at American River College in Sacramento. 

But immigration wasn’t one of the issues that mattered most to her when asked about the California governor’s race. She instead pointed to affordability issues including housing costs and gas prices. 

“My mom and my brothers are the ones who are working, so there’s a lot of weight on their shoulders now that the prices have increased,” she said, noting that she doesn’t work because she’s a full-time student. “The only thing that matters is if they care about affordability for the people in California and how long they’ve helped the actual people of California.” 

Chavez is part of Latinos Unidos and El Centro, student groups that support Latino students on campus. She said she’s leaning towards supporting Xavier Becerra because of his experience fighting the Trump administration when he was Health and Human Services Secretary under the Biden administration. 

Yuliana Rico Chavez studies Thursday, April 2, 2026, at El Centro — a Latino support center at American River College in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

Immigration remains deeply personal for many young Latino Californians, particularly as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement operations. But interviews with young voters and political experts suggest economic pressures like housing costs, education and healthcare are increasingly important. 

Democratic candidates are capitalizing on addressing these concerns as more Latino voters are seemingly drifting from the Republican party after a rightward shift seen during the 2024 presidential election. That shift, in which a larger share of Latinos voted for Republican candidates across California, was also largely attributed to cost-of-living issues . 

But the continued focus on economics also raises questions about how much messages about immigration resonate with voters in the governor’s race.

Lilian Esbejel, 30, studies psychology at American River College and is also part of El Centro and Latinos Unidos. She became a naturalized citizen last year and will be casting her first ballot this June during the primaries. 

Her top issues are similar to Chavez’s — affordability, education, housing and healthcare. 

“I have to get more hours for work and it’s complicated because I need to make more money but at the same time I want to build a future and I want to get my studies,” she said.

Esbejel said the issue of immigration is still a big concern for her, particularly when she struggled to access financial aid while navigating the immigration process. 

“I felt like I needed to get more resources,” she said. “It was scary because I was trying to get the money and the time.” 

Yet she said immigration feels less like a political issue and more like a daily constant that she and her family have to grapple with. 

Both of these students’ concerns are in line with national data on top concerns for Latino voters. A recent poll by UnidosUS found that economic stability — cost of living, inflation, affordable housing, healthcare and jobs — were the most important issues. Immigration was fifth, despite increased federal enforcement across the country.  

A changing Latino electorate

Mariana Valdez Jimenez, a specialist at El Centro who works closely with Latino students at American River College, said she was not surprised students did not immediately bring up immigration as a top political concern. 

“Immigration almost is transcending the political world,” she said. “That is an emotional conversation that is being had at home.” 

Jimenez noted that many young Latinos she works with also feel politically disconnected. 

“Right now young Latinos don’t feel like they have efficacy with politics,” she said. “They don’t feel like they have a chance.” 

Political experts say previous generations of Latino voters included large numbers of newly naturalized immigrants who saw immigration policy as a key political issue. But younger Latino voters who grew up in California are increasingly focused on broader economic pressures affecting working-class families. 

Matt Barreto, founder of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, said affordability now dominates concerns among all demographics, including young Latinos. 

“There’s always that disconnect between Latinos being a huge part of the state economy, the state population, the public school system, but a relatively smaller part of the electorate,” Barreto said. 

Barreto noted Latino voters generally make up about a quarter of the state’s electorate, but that percentage is expected to increase over time as more young Latinos become eligible to vote.

“At some point we will be 40% of the electorate,” he said. 

Barreto also said Latino voters are becoming more politically diverse and less driven by identity politics. He attributes that to “great strides” the state has made in electing Latinos to powerful positions.

“That allows the average Latino voter to look deeper and more holistically at the issues because we’ve been able to get our members of Congress, our members of the state Legislature and these other offices finally elected after decades of struggle,” he stressed.

Baretto also noted that California has only had one Latino governor — Romualdo Pacheco — who was never elected. The then-lieutenant governor took the seat in 1875 when the previous governor resigned. The last Latino candidate to come close to becoming governor was then-Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante during the 2003 recall election won by Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

The recent rise in popularity of Becerra, who previously served as California attorney general, may be the closest a Latino has gotten to being elected to governor since then. 

Affordability vs immigration enforcement 

The leading Democratic candidates for governor are all addressing immigration enforcement in differing ways with some making them central to their campaigns. 

Becerra has largely focused on affordability and health care while also pointing to his own background as the son of immigrants. 

“I was born here, I’ve been here forever,” Becerra said during a recent interview following a campaign rally in Sacramento. “But I still am concerned about immigration not just as a policymaker, not just as the next governor, but as a son of immigrants who has family members who are recent immigrants.” 

When asked how he plans to reach out to young Latino voters, he said he’s garnered support “organically” through online content creators and social media. 

“Whether it’s because it’s the ‘Becerra era,’ or because I’m ‘Tio Xavi,’ all I know is that people are out there and they are helping us move this election in our direction,” he said referring to names that have become popular online among supporters.  

In a recent interview with CapRadio during a No Kings Rally in Sacramento, Democratic candidate Tom Steyer acknowledged affordability as the biggest issue for young Latinos, but he’s also made immigration enforcement far more central to his message. 

“I think the issue which is not specifically Latino, but much more significantly Latino, is about ICE, is about immigration, is about the attempt by the Trump administration to terrorize and pick on people of color and specifically Latinos,” he said. “I’m for abolishing ICE.” 

Steyer, a billionaire who is self-funding his campaign, has been among the top polling Democrats in the race, though he’s trailed Becerra in recent weeks. 

He said he also believes the threat of artificial intelligence taking jobs is a growing concern for younger voters, including Latinos. 

“We cannot allow artificial intelligence to take away jobs from millions of Californians and do nothing about it,” he said. “We’ve got to be making sure that artificial intelligence is a tool for workers, not a replacement of workers.”

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — the other prominent Latino candidate in the race — argued that other candidates misunderstand Latino voters if they see immigration as their primary concern. 

“The Latino agenda is the American agenda,” Villaraigosa said. “They care about a good job and an economy that’s working for more people. Yes they care about immigration, but the notion that that’s all they care about or the most important thing just isn’t true.” 

If elected, Villaraigosa said he would implement his gas relief plan that would call for the state to provide relief payments to low-income families if prices stay above $5.50 per gallon for over a month.  

Villaraigosa said young people have the most at stake when it comes to elections and he called on them to get involved. 

“Look at the candidates,” he said. “I think you’ll see that only one of us have the wherewithal and the record of taking these issues on.” 

Republican political consultant Mike Madrid said the candidates performing well with Latino voters right now are those leaning into the working-class identity and economic concerns. 

“This is a community that does not feel politically engaged,” he added. “It doesn’t feel listened to. It doesn’t feel like it has a home in either party.” 

Madrid attributes Becerra’s rise in popularity partially to a shift he’s seen among working-class Latinos looking for candidates they relate to personally. 

“They’re stepping up and saying, maybe we need to look a little bit different in this Democratic Party not because of the complexion of our skin or the sound of our last name, but because of the affordability issues and working class concerns that I have,” he said.  

Madrid argued Becerra fits that description better than other candidates pointing to his 24 years in Congress representing a blue collar and immigrant-dense district in East Los Angeles.

A new Emerson College poll shows Becerra leading with nearly 20% with Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton both at 17%.

Villaraigosa is still stuck in the single digits with only 4%. Madrid said that’s likely due to name recognition issues with voters who were too young to know who he was when he was mayor of Los Angeles.

By Wendy Fry and Sergio Olmos, CalMatters

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Six people died in California immigration detention centers over the past year as the crowded sites struggled to provide basic medical care, according to a new state investigation detailing conditions inside the facilities.

The 175-page report released Friday offers the most detailed look to date inside the detention centers that are often in remote areas of the state and hard to access for attorneys, families, and advocates. 

It documents the highest death toll since the state began conducting inspections of the centers seven years ago. In 2024, there were zero deaths in California detention centers, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s list of Immigration and Customs Enforcement press releases tracking them, and the Attorney General’s office. 

The deaths occurred as the Trump administration carried out a mass deportation campaign — starting in Los Angeles — that drove up the population inside detention centers by more than 150%. 

Eighteen people have died in facilities this year across the country, around one person a week. Since the start of the Trump administration, 48 people have died in detention. A study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the current rate is nearly seven times higher than fiscal year 2023 levels at 88.9 per 100,000 people.

In California, four of the deaths occurred at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County. Two other people died at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility near the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico. In all four of the Adelanto cases, families of the deceased allege the facility failed to provide adequate medical care, the report states. 

The inspections by the California Department of Justice are required under a 2017 law enacted in response to concerns about conditions. Investigators and medical experts did two-day site visits at each facility and interviewed 194 people from more than 120 countries. 

Last year, inspectors focused on lapses in mental health care across the six facilities operating in California in the early months of the second Trump administration. This year, state investigators drilled in on how the dramatic surge in detainee populations strained conditions and access to medical care at all of the facilities now operating across California. 

Some detainees described only having beans and bread to eat, which gave them diarrhea, and extremely cold temperatures that caused them to try to turn their socks into extra arm sleeves. At one facility, investigators documented not enough toilets to serve the population, with detainees reporting dirty bathrooms. 

Several detainees cried as they relayed the conditions of their confinement in California City to state investigators. Most of the people detained have not been convicted of any crime. 

“This is cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, adding that his office “worked tirelessly to shine a light” on the conditions.  

State investigators wrote that the detention centers had not increased medical staffing to match the dramatic rise in the number of detainees. At a new detention center that opened in a former state prison in California City last year, investigators described “crisis-level” medical staffing that contributed to delays in care. At the time, the center had only one physician for nearly 1,000 detainees. 

All of the detention centers are managed by private companies under contracts with the federal government. State investigators wrote that the companies and the federal agency are failing to meet their own standards of care. 

CalMatters reached out to ICE and the three private prison companies that operate facilities in California.

A spokesperson for MTC, which operates the site in Imperial County, said the company takes the report seriously and is conducting a review of its findings. “Our focus is on the people in our care, the Imperial-specific findings, and the continued work of providing safe, humane, and standards-compliant care,” said MTC spokesperson Emily Lawhead.

Christopher V. Ferreira, a spokesperson for the private prison company GEO Group, in a written statement said detainees have access to “around the clock” medical care and other services.

“In all instances, our support services are monitored by ICE, including by on-site agency personnel, and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with ICE’s detention standards and contract requirements regarding the treatment and services ICE detainees receive,” he said.

Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for the private prison company CoreCivic, said “all our immigration facilities where we provide healthcare adhere to federal detention standards, including staffing.”

Diminished civil rights protections

State investigators also described in their report how the Trump administration rolled back federal protections for detainees. 

Since January 2025, the federal government has defunded legal programs to inform people of their rights, shut down Department of Homeland Security civil rights oversight offices, and stopped protections for transgender detainees, the report states. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopped including congressionally mandated data on transgender people in its biweekly statistical reports in February 2025, the report says. The agency also removed from its website a policy memo that committed the agency to creating a safe environment for transgender people. 

Loba, a transgender woman from El Salvador who was detained at California City for six months in 2025, told CalMatters she experienced traumatizing sexual harassment and intimidation from guards while being housed in the male dorms. She asked CalMatters to only identify her by her first name because she fears retaliation for speaking about the conditions and for her safety in her home country. 

The situation was so stressful, she said, that she finally decided to sign her voluntary departure paperwork to go back home to El Salvador. 

“That is absolutely the reason,” she said. “I have been fighting my immigration case for two years, and then after not being around my community and the lack of support for the LGBTQ+ community inside detention centers, and then being a victim of harassment, it was really intimidating. It was very traumatizing.” 

The report also looked into other complaints raised by detainees and their families. 

During one incident at Adelanto, a person reported to state inspectors that guards deployed pepper spray in a confined room holding about 50 people. 

At the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, investigators flagged concerns about strip-searching. The report states Otay Mesa is the only facility in California that has a policy of strip-searching detainees after every visit they have with someone who is not a lawyer. 

Women described the searches as “humiliating” and “denigrating” after being searched in front of male officers, sometimes even while menstruating. Both males and females described feeling “violated” by the practice. One person told inspectors they had stopped visiting their family altogether to avoid the searches. 

The Central Valley Annex in McFarland on July 8, 2024.Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Two new detention centers

At the time of the investigators’ visits, 6,028 people were held in immigration detention in California. That was up 162% from the 2,300 held during inspections in 2023.  California has the third highest ICE detainee population, behind Texas and Louisana. 

California is also home to two of the seven largest facilities nationwide. Detainees in California were mostly from Mexico, India, Guatemala, El Salvador, China, Russia, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and Honduras. 

California Democrats during both of Trump’s terms have adopted policies that were meant to block the detention centers from operating. In 2019, California tried to ban private for-profit detention centers from operating in the state, but GEO Group successfully sued to stop it. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ban violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause by preventing the federal government from conducting immigration enforcement. 

ICE opened two detention centers in California over the past year, first the one in California City and then one in McFarland called Central Valley Annex. It began receiving detainees in April 2026 while the report was being finalized, but the state says it will begin monitoring that detention center as well. Both of the sites were previously used to hold state prison inmates under contracts with California’s corrections system.

This year California Democrats are carrying a range of bills to push back against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. One by Assemblymember Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat,  would tax detention facilities, with the funds going towards immigrant rights groups, effectively making it unprofitable to keep detention centers in the state. 

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Read the first story in this series here. 

The Trump administration is renewing efforts to dismantle the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The policy currently shields over half a million immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. 

Roughly 300 DACA recipients, referred to as Dreamers, have been arrested and dozens have already been deported, according to a February memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security. 

In Sacramento, one woman lost her job and is dealing with traumatic memories from childhood detention after learning of the sudden reopening of her case. 

Daniela Valladares Hernandez, a 28-year-old Dreamer who came to the United States from Honduras as a child, said her life looked different just weeks ago prior to receiving the letter. She was studying for a life and health insurance professional certification for her finance job, planning a birthday celebration and looking for a volleyball league to join in Sacramento.

Now, she said she cries herself to sleep most nights. 

“I held a stainless steel cup and in just holding that I immediately had a flashback to the coldness of the bars and the stuff within the facilities,” Valladares said, recounting her detainment after crossing the border as a 6-year-old. 

“I was really excited and looking forward to celebrating my birthday,” she added. “I don’t want to say there’s not much to celebrate, but it almost feels more inhuman to myself to create this illusion that I can have a normal day or a fun day when every day there’s work to do.” 

Unexpected disruptions 

Valladares was ordered to report in person to an immigration court in Georgia — a state she hasn’t lived in for 10 years — despite having lived in California for four years. 

She said she requested to transfer the case to Sacramento or appear remotely, but both were denied. Her attorney was allowed to appear remotely. 

The Executive Office for Immigration Review declined to comment. 

The sudden reopening of the case, which she said was administratively closed over a decade ago, has affected nearly every aspect of her life, including her job.

Valladares said her employer gave her a choice after learning she could be required to leave for court proceedings or potentially be detained: resign now or risk being fired and barred from working for the company again. 

“They told me that if I were to get detained and I couldn’t contact my job, it would be considered job abandonment, so ultimately if that happened, I wouldn’t be eligible for rehire,” she said. “However, if I resigned, I could be eligible for rehire one day and focus on fighting my case.” 

Valladares said she does not blame her employer, noting that the system wasn’t created to cater to people like her.  

“I think it’s about the system,” she said. “As a manager, you are expected to plan for consistency and attendance and there’s no way to plan for this kind of uncertainty.” 

But losing her job meant she had to drain her savings and retirement account to pay legal expenses. She also considered selling her car and belongings online but has avoided doing so because of a GoFundMe that was created to support her. 

She has since received food assistance and legal support from NorCal Resist, a Sacramento-based immigrant advocacy and mutual aid organization. 

Advocates concerned

NorCal Resist Program Director Giselle Garcia said a weeks-long battle to get the case moved to California, which included garnering support from Sacramento Congresswoman Doris Matsui, finally paid off. A second motion to change venue was accepted by the Atlanta court this week. 

But Garcia says that doesn’t mean Valladares’ life is back on track. 

“She lost a job that she worked very hard to get and to thrive in, she’s facing housing insecurity,” Garcia stressed. “She’s still going to be forced to engage in this procedure that is quite frankly not a fair one. The odds are always stacked against the respondent.” 

Three immigration judges in Sacramento were fired last year as part of mass firings that seemingly targeted judges with low rates of asylum claim denials. One of them had a denial rate of less than 5% of claims, which was far below the national average of roughly 60%. 

Data from Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, shows that judges in Sacramento now have denial rates that range from 15% to 89%. That potentially gives Valladares a greater chance of staying in the U.S. than if her case were heard in Atlanta, where denial rates from judges range from 56% to 98%. 

Valladares now has to wait for the Sacramento immigration court to issue a new hearing date.

Legal experts and immigration attorneys say it’s difficult to know exactly how many people are in similar situations as Valladares because data from immigration courts is often delayed. 

What’s happening with DACA? 

Immigration lawyers and experts say Valladares’ case is part of a broader trend affecting DACA recipients. 

The Department of Homeland Security has criticized the program saying it does not give undocumented immigrants legal status in the country. It previously signaled that recipients may be arrested and deported if they’ve committed a crime, but Valladares doesn’t have a criminal record. 

Greg Chen with the American Immigration Lawyers Association previously told CapRadio the organization has seen a dramatic increase in recent months. 

“It’s likely that there are more DACA recipients that are now appearing in immigration court removal proceedings just in the past several months,” Chen said. 

Chen said roughly 300 DACA recipients have been confirmed to be placed in deportation proceedings in recent months, but that number has likely changed. 

Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration law professor at UCLA Law, said efforts to target DACA recipients fit a longer pattern. 

“The current administration is truly trying to go after people who thought that they were protected by status and had been filing papers and all that,” he said. 

Motomura noted that common criticisms of the program giving undocumented immigrants green cards and citizenship are myths. 

“All DACA gives you is protection from enforcement while Congress tries to sort this out,” he said. “It’s entirely consistent with the separation of power between Congress, which is the only entity that can give you green cards and citizenship, and the power of the president to control how immigration laws are being enforced.” 

Researchers with TRAC are also hitting roadblocks when trying to find what should be public information. Susan B. Long with TRAC said data on DACA recipients and enforcement actions have been withheld. 

“This is no accident, but a conscious policy of federal officials,” she said in an email. “Congress passed clear disclosure mandates over 50 years ago to ensure that the public has the information it needs to hold federal agencies accountable.” 

But Motomura said official deportation numbers would not capture immigrants pressured to leave.

“The number of people who feel forced and so-called self-deport, that’s always a significant number when you compare it to the number of people who are actually apprehended and taken out of the country essentially by force,” he said. 

Daniela Valladares Hernandez speaks during a multi-faith prayer and vigil Thursday, April 23, 2026, outside of the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

Back in Sacramento, faith leaders are rallying behind Valladares, who said she’s questioned her own faith after having to go through this ordeal. She spoke about wanting peace and stability in her life during a multi-faith prayer vigil on Thursday outside of the John Moss Federal Building, which houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Sacramento. 

“I want a boring life,” she said. “This life has been very, very tumultuous.”

But she said the support she’s received and the change of venue approval has given her hope. 

“Today, at this exact moment, it’s probably my first day that I haven’t cried since I got that notice,” she told the crowd. “So thank you for giving me a reason to smile and being here with me.”

This story is also available in English. 

Translation by Natalie Gonzalez / KPBS News

Daniela Valladares Hernandes todavía recuerda lo que llevaba consigo en su viaje de más de 1,600 kilómetros desde Honduras hasta la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos.

Cargaba una pequeña mochila morada, unos shorts naranjas y sus muñecas Barbie.

Valladares contó que el atuendo estaba inspirado en Dora la Exploradora, su obsesión de la infancia.

"Me dibujaron un mapa como lo hacía Dora". dijo Daniela, recordando a las personas desconocidas con las que viajó. "Yo sabía que al emprender ese camino a pie el destino final y la estrella en la que iba a estar a salvo era Estados Unidos." 

Daniela Valladares Hernández cuando tenía seis años. Lleva puesto un reloj de Dora la Exploradora.(Cortesía de ValladarLa niña de 6 años que era en aquel entonces sostuvo sus muñecas de La princesa del lago de los cisnes y Rapunzel durante todo el viaje, incluso después de casi ahogarse cruzando el Río Bravo.

La niña de 6 años que era en aquel entonces sostuvo sus muñecas de La princesa del lago de los cisnes y Rapunzel durante todo el viaje, incluso después de casi ahogarse cruzando el Río Bravo.

''Dejé mi inocencia y mi infancia en la frontera en el momento en que esas Barbies se cayeron y me esposaron y me metieron tras las rejas," dijo.

Eso fue en el 2004. Ahora, con 28 años y beneficiaria de DACA, ha construido una vida en Estados Unidos después de haberse establecido primero en Georgia, donde se esforzó académicamente hasta lograr ingresar a la Universidad George Washington y graduarse de la Universidad de Cornell. 

Valladares ha vivido en California los últimos 4 años y actualmente vive en Sacramento estudiando la carrera en finanzas. Pero una carta que recibió a finales del mes pasado le dio un giro a su vida.

El tribunal de inmigración de Atlanta en Georgia reabrió su caso y le ordenó comparecer en persona a los pocos días de recibir la notificación, a pesar de que su caso había sido archivado administrativamente en 2014. Valladares afirmó que no le dieron ninguna razón para la reapertura de su caso. 

La Oficina Ejecutiva para la Revisión de Casos de Inmigración no respondió de inmediato a las preguntas para este reportaje.

Valladares presentó solicitudes para trasladar su caso a California o para comparecer de forma remota, pero ambas fueron rechazadas.

Foto de graduación de Valladares.(Cortesía de Valladares)

Esto a pesar de que la solicitud de su abogada para participar de manera remota sí fue aprobada.

“No va a poder entrar conmigo, pero aun así se espera que entre yo sola”, dijo. “Es bastante extraño e interesante que ahora intenten llevarme de regreso a un lugar donde no se me permitió construir mi vida”.

Valladares se refiere a los constantes obstáculos que enfrentó mientras vivía en Georgia, incluyendo a una consejera escolar de preparatoria que amenazó con reportarla a Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés).

Beneficiarios de DACA bajo la mira

Greg Chen, de la Asociación Americana de Abogados de Inmigración, dijo que la organización ha visto un aumento drástico en el número de beneficiarios de DACA colocados en procesos de deportación, con 300 casos registrados en los últimos meses.

"Es probable que haya más beneficiarios de DACA que ahora están compareciendo en procedimientos de deportación en tribunales de inmigración en los últimos meses”, dijo Chen.

Chen indicó que este cambio forma parte de un patrón más amplio en la forma en que operan los tribunales de inmigración. Señaló un memorando reciente de la Oficina Ejecutiva para la Revisión de Casos de Inmigración que eliminó lineamientos previos sobre solicitudes de cambio de sede como una posible razón del rechazo en el caso de Valladares.

El memorando argumenta que este tipo de solicitudes puede ser utilizado para retrasar los procesos o buscar tribunales que tengan mayores índices de aprobación. Sin embargo, Chen dijo que este cambio de política, combinado con una mayor presión sobre los jueces para avanzar rápidamente con los casos y fallar a favor del gobierno, podría estar influyendo en las decisiones.

"Ese tipo de presión impacta si los jueces están dispuestos a conceder un cambio de sede… u otras mociones que podrían percibirse como un retraso en el proceso”, dijo. “Presionar a un juez para avanzar con cada caso no necesariamente hace que los tribunales sean más eficientes y también puede generar resultados muy inconsistentes que no se apegan a la ley”.

Chen agregó que también es importante considerar que los tribunales de inmigración operan bajo el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos, y no como tribunales independientes, y que recientes despidos de jueces de inmigración con altos índices de aprobación podrían estar influyendo en sus decisiones.

El costo de una denegación

Cuando recibió la carta que cambió su vida, Valladares buscó apoyo en NorCal Resist, una organización sin fines de lucro que asiste a inmigrantes en procesos de deportación.

Giselle García, directora de programas de la organización, señaló que el caso llamó la atención porque las solicitudes para cambio de sede como esta suelen ser aprobadas.

“Daniela ha vivido en California durante muchos años y es poco práctico, casi imposible, que tenga que desarraigar su vida”, dijo. “Básicamente le están exigiendo que deje todo atrás y enfrente estos procesos al otro lado del país, en un estado donde ya tiene un historial de rechazo”.

Su caso también ha recibido el respaldo de la congresista Doris Matsui, quien representa a Sacramento, envió una carta al Departamento de Justicia instando a los funcionarios a reconsiderar la decisión de permitir que Valladares traslade su caso a California.

“Daniela perdió su empleo más reciente debido a la decisión del Departamento de Justicia de reabrir su caso”, señaló Matsui. “Al exigirle viajar innecesariamente a Georgia, el Departamento de Justicia está generando una carga financiera extrema adicional para mi representada”.

Datos del Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse muestran que los tribunales de inmigración en Georgia tienen algunas de las tasas más altas de negación de asilo en el país, con tasas por juez que van del 57% al 98%.

García también señaló que si Valladares no se presenta ante la corte, podría recibir automáticamente una orden de deportación. Esto representa un problema para ella, ya que no está dispuesta a volar por temor a operativos de inmigración en aeropuertos, incluido el de Atlanta.

Miembros de la comunidad de NorCal Resist ya se han ofrecido a llevarla en auto para su audiencia el próximo mes, pero incluso ese viaje implica riesgos.

“Estaríamos manejando por estados conservadores… lugares donde históricamente ha habido retenes de la Patrulla Fronteriza”, dijo García. “Así que el viaje no está garantizado, pero por ahora es la opción más segura”.

Valladares dijo que llegó a Estados Unidos en busca de seguridad tras enfrentar persecución en su país de origen y ahora teme lo que pueda venir. Pero también está decidida a luchar, no solo por ella, sino por muchos otros “dreamers” que también tienen miedo.

“Me da miedo que esta lucha termine conmigo perdiendo la oportunidad de dar un respiro más, pero hasta el final voy a dar todo en esta pelea”, dijo. “Quiero que la gente sepa quiénes somos realmente, la verdad de quiénes somos, y espero poder servir de ejemplo para otros, de que somos fuertes y que genuinamente hemos hecho las cosas lo mejor que podemos y de la mejor manera posible”.

This story has been updated with a response from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Daniela Valladares Hernandez still remembers what she carried on her more than 1,000-mile journey from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexico border. 

A small purple book bag, orange shorts and her Barbie dolls. 

Valladares said the outfit was inspired by Dora the Explorer, her childhood obsession. 

Daniela Valladares Hernandez when she was six years old. She’s wearing a Dora the Explorer watch.(Courtesy)

“They drew me a map the same way Dora had,” Daniela said, recalling the strangers she traveled with. “I knew that as I embarked on the journey by foot that the final destination and the star where I was going to be safe was the U.S.” 

The then six-year-old held onto her Swan Lake Princess and Rapunzel dolls the entire trip, even after nearly drowning crossing the Rio Grande. 

“My innocence and childhood, I left them at the border the moment those Barbies were dropped and I was handcuffed and put behind bars,” she said. 

That was in 2004. The now 28-year-old DACA recipient has since built a life in the United States after first settling in Georgia, where she pushed herself academically to eventually attend George Washington University and graduate from Cornell University. 

Valladares has lived in California for the last four years and currently lives in Sacramento, where she’s pursuing a career in finance. But a letter that arrived late last month upended her life. 

The Atlanta immigration court in Georgia reopened her case and ordered her to appear in person within days of receiving the notice despite her case being administratively closed in 2014. Valladares said she was not provided a reason for her case being reopened.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it does not comment on cases before the agency when asked questions for this story.

Valladares filed motions to move her case to California or appear remotely, but both were denied. 

That’s despite the fact that her attorney’s request to appear remotely was granted.

“She will not be able to walk in with me, but I am still expected to walk in alone,” she said. “It is quite odd and interesting that they are trying to now drag me back into a place that did not allow me to build my life.” 

Valladares is referring to constant road blocks she encountered while living in Georgia, including a high school counselor who threatened to report her to immigrations customs enforcement. 

DACA recipients targeted 

Greg Chen with the American Immigration Lawyers Association said the organization has seen a dramatic increase of DACA recipients placed into deportation proceedings, with 300 taking place in recent months. 

“It’s likely that there are more DACA recipients that are now appearing in immigration court removal proceedings just in the past several months,” Chen said. 

Chen noted that the shift is part of a broader pattern of immigration courts changing how they operate. He pointed to a recent memorandum from the Executive Office for Immigration Review that removed previous guidance on change of venue requests as a likely reason for Valladares’ denial. 

The memo argues such requests can be abused by people trying to delay proceedings or seek courts with higher approval ratings. But Chen said the policy change, combined with increased pressure on judges to move cases quickly and rule in favor of the government, may be influencing decisions. 

“That kind of pressure impacts whether judges would be inclined to grant a change of venue … or other motions that might be perceived as slowing down the immediate proceedings,” he said. “Putting pressure on a judge to move forward on every case doesn’t necessarily make the courts more efficient and is also likely to result in highly inconsistent results that are not consistent with the law.” 

Chen said it’s also important to note that immigration courts operate under the U.S. Department of Justice, not as independent courts, and that recent firings of immigration judges with higher approval ratings could be influencing judges’ choices. 

The cost of a denial

When she received the letter that changed her life, Valladares reached out to NorCal Resist, a mutual aid nonprofit that assists immigrants going through deportation proceedings, for support on her case. 

Giselle Garcia, the nonprofit’s program director, said the case stood out because change-of-venue requests like this are often granted. 

“Daniela has been living in California for many years and it is impractical and almost impossible for her to uproot her life,” she said. “She’s being demanded to uproot her life essentially and navigate these proceedings across the country in a state where she has a history of rejection.” 

Her case has also drawn support from Congresswoman Doris Matsui, who represents Sacramento. She sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging officials to reconsider the decision to allow Valladares to move her case to California. 

“Daniela lost her most recent employment due to the Department of Justice’s decision to reopen her case,” Matsui stated. “By requiring unnecessary travel to Georgia, the Department of Justice is creating further extreme financial hardship for my constituent.”

Data from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse shows that Georgia immigration courts have some of the highest asylum denial rates in the country with individual judge denial rates ranging from 57% to 98%.  

Garcia also said if Valladares fails to appear in court, she could receive an automatic deportation order. That’s a problem for Valladares because she’s unwilling to fly due to concerns about immigration enforcement at airports, including in Atlanta. 

Community members with NorCal Resist have already volunteered to drive her across the country for her hearing next month, but even that journey carries risk.

“We are going to be driving through conservative states… locations that have historically had border patrol stops,” Garcia said. “So the journey is not a given, but it is the safest route for now.” 

Valladares said she came to the United States seeking safety because she faced persecution in her home country and now fears what could happen next. But she’s also determined to put up a fight not just for herself, but for the many other “Dreamers” who are also afraid. 

“I’m scared that this fight ends with me losing the ability to have one more breath, but until the end, I will give it all my fight,” she said. “I want people to know who we are, the truth of who we are, and I hope that I can serve as encouragement to others that we’re strong and we have genuinely done things to the best of our abilities the right way.” 

California joined a growing legal fight against a Trump administration immigration policy requiring many detained undocumented immigrants to remain in custody without the opportunity to request a bond hearing. The hearings are used to determine whether a defendant can be released from jail before a trial and under what conditions. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday he is co-leading a multistate coalition filing amicus briefs in several federal cases challenging the policy. Bonta argued the policy violates due process and goes against the intent of Congress regarding immigration law. 

The federal government’s interpretation of immigration law now bars many noncitizens who entered the country without inspection from asking a judge for release while their cases are pending regardless of their lack of criminal history. 

The administration has defended its nationwide policy arguing that immigration law mandates detention of any “applicant for admission” who does not have proof that they are allowed to be in the country. This is also part of a broader push to expand on Trump’s campaign promise for stricter immigration policies. 

Bonta said in a statement that the policy is already leading to record detention levels and worsening conditions inside facilities. 

“The Trump administration’s policy isn’t making America greater or safer, it is creating harms that are rippling far beyond detention centers,” he stated. “Children are losing parents, families are losing income stability and communities are losing vital members.” 

Advocates on the ground are already seeing those effects. 

Giselle Garcia, program director with NorCal Resist, said many of those detained in Sacramento are primary earners for their families. 

“They are emotionally suffering, financially suffering since most of the folks who are being picked up are the financial breadwinners of the home,” Garcia said. “Families are also struggling to be able to put money on commissary because … the family has to put money on their loved one’s books to be able to have a phone call.” 

Garcia also said eliminating bond hearings means people are detained for longer in often harsh conditions. 

“Unfortunately, conditions inside of these immigration detention centers are prison-like conditions and sometimes even worse,” she stressed. 

The American Civil Liberties Union has documented  inhumane conditions at several immigrant detention facilities in California, New York, Kansas and Florida, among others. 

The policy marks a stark shift from longstanding immigration practice, according to Dana Leigh Marks. The retired judge who served in San Francisco for 35 years sees the change as politically motivated rather than based on sound legal precedent. 

“If someone is not a flight risk and not a risk to the security of the United States, the vast majority of individuals are then entitled to be released from immigration detention by posting a bond or bail,” she said. 

Both Marks and Garcia argue the policy is also reinforcing the role of private detention facilities in the immigration system. 

“This is simply a way to continue to monetize the benefits of the private prison industry by making it impossible for these people to be released from custody,” Marks emphasized, adding that “huge amounts of profit” are flowing through those companies. 

Garcia has worked with many incarcerated detainees who have described inhumane conditions inside facilities, including black mold in cells, a lack of adequate medical care and being served expired food. 

Data from Detention Watch Network, an advocacy group that tracks immigration detention, shows that over 90 percent of detainees are being held in privately-operated facilities.

“These companies, they get paid based on how full these facilities are,” Garcia said. “So the incentive to incarcerate immigrants is high for the corporation and the profit margins are higher if conditions at these facilities are abysmal.” 

CORRECTION: On Monday, Congresswoman Doris Matsui claimed the woman arrested by ICE was from Sacramento. But then on Tuesday afternoon Matsui released a statement saying the woman is actually not from Sacramento and she was misinformed by local advocacy group NorCal Resist.

Viral videos showing a woman being arrested by ICE agents at San Francisco International Airport Sunday night are drawing widespread outrage and concern.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X that two individuals — Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Lopez — have had final removal orders from an immigration judge since 2019. 

Video from the scene shows Lopez-Jimenez in handcuffs, crying and struggling with two plainclothes officers as bystanders demand the agents identify themselves.

“While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers. ICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala,” a DHS statement said.

Democratic Congresswoman Doris Matsui said she was “deeply angered” by the footage.

“This video showcases the cruelty we have come to expect from Trump's ICE agents, but also the lasting trauma that will be inflicted on those who are forced to witness their disproportionate and deadly recklessness,” Matsui said. 

Airport officials said federal officers were escorting two individuals onto an outbound flight and emphasized that SFO staff were not involved in the confrontation.

Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener, who is running for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, condemned the arrest during a press conference outside the airport Monday.

“We don’t want ICE here. When ICE descends on our communities, it only creates fear,” Wiener said. “We have to put a stop to ICE’s terror campaign.”

Weiner called on Trump to pass a standalone TSA funding bill, separate from the ICE budget.

“Everyone wants to fund TSA, but Democrats correctly have drawn a line and said we're not going to give more money to ICE or to the border patrol or to this terror campaign unless there is fundamental reform,” he said.

Wiener has long criticized ICE tactics and previously authored the No Secret Police Act, which sought to ban officers from wearing masks that conceal their identity. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill, but a federal judge later blocked it, ruling it unfairly targeted federal officers.

The incident comes as the Trump administration moves to deploy ICE agents to 14 airports nationwide, citing staffing shortages as TSA workers call out during a partial government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats in Congress clash over DHS funding. Officials at SFO say they do not expect an ICE presence. The airport isn’t affected by the shortage due to their use of private contractors.

Sacramento International Airport also said it does not plan to use ICE agents for support.

“Staffing callouts have remained minimal, and security wait times are staying consistent with what they were prior to the shutdown,” the airport said. “SMF will continue to work with our TSA and airline partners to ensure the airport is a safe and efficient travel experience.”

The video has also raised questions about potential violations of sanctuary laws prohibiting local and state authorities from assisting immigration enforcement operations after San Francisco police officers were seen attempting to control bystanders. Police said they did not assist with immigration enforcement and were present only to maintain public safety.

“Consistent with our City Charter, state law, and SFPD department policy, we do not assist in the enforcement of civil federal immigration laws,” the department said.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called the incident “upsetting,” but described it as “isolated” and reiterated that SFPD officers were not involved, in line with longstanding city policy.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to be in San Diego County Thursday for a high-profile visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, where she is slated to hold a news conference focused on border security and drug enforcement efforts, according to federal officials.

The event, planned for Otay Mesa, is being framed by the Department of Homeland Security as an update on “historic border security and drug seizure efforts” under the current administration. Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection are expected to attend alongside Noem. 

Her visit comes as new polls show declining support for the Trump administration’s border and immigration enforcement tactics following two fatal shootings of protesters by immigration agents in Minneapolis. A poll for NBC showed that 49% of Americans strongly disapprove of the administration’s immigration policies. That’s an increase from 38% last summer.

California’s Democratic leaders have consistently condemned the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, which include arrests at courthouses and detentions of immigrants who have not been accused of criminal offenses. 

But Noem and others from the Trump administration have countered that California policies, including its so-called sanctuary law, hinder their efforts to deport unauthorized immigrants,

“These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” Noem said in May when the department published a list of cities and states with sanctuary policies. “We are exposing these sanctuary politicians who harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy federal law. President Trump and I will always put the safety of the American people first. Sanctuary politicians are on notice: comply with federal law.”

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security promoted its success stemming the flow of illicit drugs and unauthorized crossings at the southern border, positioning these as major achievements in the Trump administration’s overall security strategy.

Noem’s visit follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip last week to the San Diego–Otay Mesa corridor last week, where he highlighted law enforcement partnerships, including fentanyl enforcement and federal immigration raids. He contrasted collaborative efforts with the Trump administration’s decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles and other Democratic cities against the wishes of governors and mayors.

Newsom also pointed to a CalMatters investigation that showed immigration arrests in San Diego have quietly surged by 1,500% over last year, “but without the fanfare of what you’re seeing in your living room and on your screen happening in places like Minneapolis.” 

The trip also unfolds in the context of several headline-making policy and legal flashpoints involving the Department of Homeland Security.

In Congress, Democratic lawmakers have renewed calls for oversight and, and some have called for impeachment proceedings against Noem over immigration enforcement tactics by agencies under her authority. Democrats in Congress lack the votes to remove Noem.

Noem’s efforts to end Temporary Protected Status designations for Venezuelans, Haitians and Somalians — immigrant groups with established communities in San Diego — have faced challenges in federal courts.

San Diego city officials recently filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense of unlawfully installing razor wire fencing on city-owned land near the border. The suit specifically names Secretary Noem as a defendant, asserting environmental and property damage claims.

Conservative influencer Nick Shirley has been circulating through San Diego County in recent weeks, reportedly recording videos in City Heights and near Somali-run child-care centers, provoking statements of concern from state and local officials about harassment and community safety.

Shirley, whose content has drawn millions of views online, has built a following by traveling to border regions and immigrant neighborhoods and portraying them as lawless. Immigrant advocates and local officials say his narratives misrepresent conditions on the ground and inflame tensions.

His video alleging fraud at Somali-run daycares in Minnesota was widely credited with bringing intense federal attention in the Twin Cities, including the sweeping immigration enforcement surge dubbed “Operation Metro Surge.”

The Otay Mesa Port of Entry is one of the busiest commercial and inspection points in the region. Noem’s remarks may touch on resource allocations, federal–state cooperation, and operational metrics and narcotics trafficking, according to federal sources.

By JAIMIE DING Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked a California law from going into effect that would ban federal immigration agents from covering their faces, but they will still be required to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number.

California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings under a bill that was signed in September following the summer of high-profile raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Los Angeles.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the laws, arguing that they would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that they violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.

Judge Christina Snyder said she issued the initial ruling because the mask ban as it was enacted did not also apply to state law enforcement authorities, discriminating against the federal government. The ruling could have national implications as states grapple with how to deal with federal agents enforcing the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

It left open the possibility to future legislation banning federal agents from wearing masks if it applied to all law enforcement agencies, with Snyder writing "the Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks.” The ruling will go into effect Feb. 19.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill in September banning some law enforcement officers from wearing masks, neck gaiters, and other facial coverings. It was slated to go into effect Jan. 1 but was put on hold due to the lawsuit.

In addition to exempting state law enforcement officers, it made exceptions for undercover agents, protective equipment like N95 respirators or tactical gear, and other situations where not wearing a mask would jeopardize an operation. Snyder sided with the federal government, which argued this exemption was discriminatory against federal agents.

Newsom also signed into law a measure requiring law enforcement to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number while on the job, which was challenged by the federal government but upheld by the judge.

California State Sen. Scott Weiner, who proposed the original bill to ban facial coverings, said Monday he would immediately introduce new legislation to include state police in the law.

“ICE and Border Patrol are covering their faces to maximize their terror campaign and to insulate themselves from accountability,” Weiner said in a news release. “We will ensure our mask ban can be enforced.”

At a Jan. 14 hearing, Snyder repeatedly asked the government’s lawyer, Tiberius Davis, to explain why banning masks would impede the federal law enforcement in carrying out their duties, if officers rarely wore masks prior to 2025.

Davis cited claims by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that there has been a multifold increase in assaults and threats against federal officers. He also brought up an incident in Los Angeles where three women are being accused of livestreaming while following an ICE agent home and posting the address on Instagram.

“There is real deterrence on the officer’s safety and ability to perform their duties,” Davis said.

Cameron Bell, California Department of Justice attorney, challenged his claims, saying there was no concrete evidence that federal agents can’t perform their duties without facial coverings.

Bell referenced declarations from U.S citizens who have been detained by federal agents but thought they were being kidnapped.

“It’s obvious why these laws are in the public interest,” Bell said.

The federal government also argued in legal briefs that allowing California’s legislation could lead other states to be “emboldened to impose similar unconstitutional restraints.”

Davis cited a statement from Newsom in July 2025 during an interview posted online where he discussed the mask ban bill, saying, “It appears that we don’t have the legal authority for federal agents but we do for other law enforcement authorities.”

Los Angeles County supervisors voted in December to enact a local ordinance banning law enforcement from wearing masks that went into effect Jan. 8. However, the sheriff’s department said it would not enforce the ordinance until after the court ruled on the statewide mask ban. The Los Angeles Police Department had also said it wouldn’t enforce the mask ban.

By Scott Shafer, KQED

As the Bay Area gears up for Sunday’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara, South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna and other California Democrats are demanding that no immigration enforcement operations occur at the game.

Khanna, whose district includes Levi’s Stadium, where the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will take place, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday seeking assurances that no such plans are in the works to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other immigration officers.

“Having ICE at the Super Bowl would undermine public safety, disrupt communities, and threaten the peaceful enjoyment this event should bring to the region and nation,” Khanna wrote.

The demands follow nationwide protests over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks amid what Khanna called “aggressive and often indiscriminate ICE operations [that] have caused real harm.”

The letter was signed by 21 other Democratic House members from California, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Zoe Lofgren of San José.

On Wednesday morning, Khanna’s office said it had not received a response to the letter from the Department of Homeland Security.

A Super Bowl Banner decorates the exterior of Levi’s Stadium in San José on Jan. 28, 2026.Tâm Vu/KQED

In a statement to KQED, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the department is working with local and federal agencies as it does for every major sporting event.

“We will not disclose future operations or discuss personnel. Super Bowl security will entail a whole-of-government response conducted in line with the U.S. Constitution,” McLaughlin said. “Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”

In October, after Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show’s headline entertainment, Noem said ICE would be “all over” the Super Bowl, advising that the only people who should attend the game are “law-abiding Americans who love this country.”

Upping the ante Sunday, Bad Bunny said “ICE out” during his acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. “We’re not aliens,” he said before a live television audience upon accepting the Best Música Urbana award for his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos. “We are humans, and we are Americans,” he added.

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the singer for “trying to demonize law enforcement.”

But at its annual pre-Super Bowl public safety press conference on Tuesday, NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier said, “There are no planned ICE enforcement activities.”

Still, Khanna said, “We’ve heard rumors that ICE was thinking of doing something at the Super Bowl, but nothing alarming or confirmed, but I wanted to be proactive in making sure that we keep ICE out.”

A memo this week from the Bay Area Host Committee, which works to bring major sporting events to the region, stated, “There are no planned ICE immigration enforcement operations associated with [the Super Bowl]. In coordination with NFL security and local law enforcement, DHS will have federal agents at the Super Bowl to keep fans safe.”

The message goes on to say the federal presence “is consistent with past Super Bowls.”

“I mean, this is a national event,” Khanna told KQED. “We have the world’s attention. The last thing we need is ICE raids, harassing people or creating conflict that will disrupt one of the great American traditions.”

The Super Bowl comes amid rising tension between Democrats and the White House over ICE tactics.

An aerial view of Levi’s Stadium on Dec.3, 2025, in Santa Clara, California.Kirby Lee/Getty Images

A bill to fund DHS has been held up while changes to ICE tactics are negotiated. Among the things Democrats are demanding: a ban on face masks for ICE officers; a requirement to obtain judicial warrants before taking people out of their homes, cars or workplaces; an explicit prohibition on ICE detaining or deporting U.S. citizens; and guarantees of independent, transparent investigations into excessive use of force by ICE agents.

Noem already announced this week that DHS field officers, including ICE, would have body cameras, starting with those in Minnesota, another demand by Democrats.

And earlier Wednesday, Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” who was sent to Minnesota after the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents, said 700 immigration agents would be pulled from Minnesota, leaving about 2,000 federal officers in the state.

The controversy comes as the NFL is expanding its footprint internationally, with nine games planned for outside the U.S next season. At a press event this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “We have a really big announcement from my standpoint, [which] is we’re heading back to Mexico City in December, which I think is wonderful for our fans in Mexico.”

Goodell, known as a shrewd marketer of football, must know that a controversial immigration enforcement action by ICE agents at the Super Bowl would not go over well south of the border — or in the U.S.

Lydia Romero strained to hear her husband’s feeble voice through the phone.

A week earlier, immigration agents had grabbed Julio César Peña from his front yard in Glendale, California. Now, he was in a hospital after suffering a ministroke. He was shackled to the bed by his hand and foot, he told Romero, and agents were in the room, listening to the call. He was scared he would die and wanted his wife there.

“What hospital are you at?” Romero asked.

“I can’t tell you,” he replied.

Viridiana Chabolla, Peña’s attorney, couldn’t get an answer to that question, either. Peña’s deportation officer and the medical contractor at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center refused to tell her. Exasperated, she tried calling a nearby hospital, Providence St. Mary Medical Center.

“They said even if they had a person in ICE custody under their care, they wouldn’t be able to confirm whether he’s there or not, that only ICE can give me the information,” Chabolla said. The hospital confirmed this policy to KFF Health News.

Family members and attorneys for patients hospitalized after being detained by federal immigration officials said they are facing extreme difficulty trying to locate patients, get information about their well-being, and provide them emotional and legal support. They say many hospitals refuse to provide information or allow contact with these patients. Instead, hospitals allow immigration officers to call the shots on how much — if any — contact is allowed, which can deprive patients of their constitutional right to seek legal advice and leave them vulnerable to abuse, attorneys said.

Hospitals say they are trying to protect the safety and privacy of patients, staff, and law enforcement officials, even while hospital employees in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Portland, Ore., cities where Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted immigration raids, say it’s made their jobs difficult. Hospitals have used what are sometimes called blackout procedures, which can include registering a patient under a pseudonym, removing their name from the hospital directory, or prohibiting staff from even confirming that a patient is in the hospital.

“We’ve heard incidences of this blackout process being used at multiple hospitals across the state, and it’s very concerning,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, the deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center, an advocacy group.

Some Democratic-led states, including California, Colorado, and Maryland, have enacted legislation that seeks to protect patients from immigration enforcement in hospitals. However, those policies do not address protections for people already in ICE custody.

More Detainees Hospitalized

Peña is among more than 350,000 people arrested by federal immigration authorities since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. As arrests and detentions have climbed, so too have reports of people taken to hospitals by immigration agents because of illness or injury — due to preexisting conditions or problems stemming from their arrest or detention.

ICE has faced criticism for using aggressive and deadly tactics, as well as for reports of mistreatment and inadequate medical care at its facilities. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told reporters at a Jan. 20 news conference outside a detention center he visited in California City that he spoke to a diabetic woman held there who had not received treatment in two months.

While there are no publicly available statistics on the number of people sick or injured in ICE detention, the agency’s news releases point to 32 people who died in immigration custody in 2025. Six more have died this year.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to a request for information about its policies or Peña’s case.

According to ICE’s guidelines, people in custody should be given access to a telephone, visits from family and friends, and private consultation with legal counsel. The agency can make administrative decisions, including about visitation, when a patient is in the hospital, but should defer to hospital policies on contacting next of kin when a patient is seriously ill, the guidelines state.

Asked in detail about hospital practices related to patients in immigration custody and whether there are best practices that hospitals should follow, Ben Teicher, a spokesperson for the American Hospital Association, declined to comment.

David Simon, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, said that “there are times when hospitals will — at the request of law enforcement — maintain confidentiality of patients’ names and other identifying characteristics.”

Although policies vary, members of the public can typically call a hospital and ask for a patient by name to find out whether they’re there, and often be transferred to the patient’s room, said William Weber, an emergency physician in Minneapolis and medical director for the Medical Justice Alliance, which advocates for the medical needs of people in law enforcement custody. Family members and others authorized by the patient can visit. And medical staff routinely call relatives to let them know a loved one is in the hospital, or to ask for information that could help with their care.

But when a patient is in law enforcement custody, hospitals frequently agree to restrict this kind of information sharing and access, Weber said. The rationale is that these measures prevent unauthorized outsiders from threatening the patient or law enforcement personnel, given that hospitals lack the security infrastructure of a prison or detention center. High-profile patients such as celebrities sometimes also request this type of protection.

Several attorneys and health care providers questioned the need for such restrictions. Immigration detention is civil, not criminal, detention. The Trump administration says it’s focused on arresting and deporting criminals, yet most of those arrested have no criminal conviction, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse and several news outlets.

Julio Cesar Peña, who has terminal kidney disease, sits on his bike in the backyard of his home in Glendale, California. His family had a hard time locating him when he was hospitalized after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Courtesy of the Peña Family

Taken Outside His Home

According to Peña’s wife, Romero, he has no criminal record. Peña came to the United States from Mexico in sixth grade and has an adult son in the U.S. military. The 43-year-old has terminal kidney disease and survived a heart attack in November. He has trouble walking and is partially blind, his wife said. He was detained Dec. 8 while resting outside after coming home from dialysis treatment.

Initially, Romero was able to find her husband through the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. She visited him at a temporary holding facility in downtown Los Angeles, bringing him his medicines and a sweater. She then saw he’d been moved to the Adelanto detention center. But the locator did not show where he was after he was hospitalized.

When she and other relatives drove to the detention facility to find him, they were turned away, she said. Romero received occasional calls from her husband in the hospital but said they were less than 10 minutes long and took place under ICE surveillance. She wanted to know where he was so she could be at the hospital to hold his hand, make sure he was well cared for, and encourage him to stay strong, she said.

Shackling him and preventing him from seeing his family was unfair and unnecessary, she said.

“He’s weak,” Romero said. “It’s not like he’s going to run away.”

ICE guidelines say contact and visits from family and friends should be allowed “within security and operational constraints.” Detainees have a constitutional right to speak confidentially with an attorney. Weber said immigration authorities should tell attorneys where their clients are and allow them to talk in person or use an unmonitored phone line.

Hospitals, though, fall into a gray area on enforcing these rights, since they are primarily focused on treating medical needs, Weber said. Still, he added, hospitals should ensure their policies align with the law.

Family Denied Access

Numerous immigration attorneys have spent weeks trying to locate clients detained by ICE, with their efforts sometimes thwarted by hospitals.

Nicolas Thompson-Lleras, a Los Angeles attorney who counsels immigrants facing deportation, said two of his clients were registered under aliases at different hospitals in Los Angeles County last year. Initially, the hospitals denied the clients were there and refused to let Thompson-Lleras meet with them, he said. Family members were also denied access, he said.

One of his clients was Bayron Rovidio Marin, a car wash worker injured during a raid in August. Immigration agents surveilled him for over a month at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a county-run facility, without charging him.

In November, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to curb the use of blackout policies for patients under civil immigration custody at county-run hospitals. In a statement, Arun Patel, the chief patient safety and clinical risk management officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said the policies are designed to reduce safety risks for patients, doctors, nurses, and custody officers.

“In some situations, there may be concerns about threats to the patient, attempts to interfere with medical care, unauthorized visitors, or the introduction of contraband,” Patel said. “Our goal is not to restrict care but to allow care to happen safely and without disruption.”

Leaving Patients Vulnerable

Thompson-Lleras said he’s concerned that hospitals are cooperating with federal immigration authorities at the expense of patients and their families and leaving patients vulnerable to abuse.

“It allows people to be treated suboptimally,” Thompson-Lleras said. “It allows people to be treated on abbreviated timelines, without supervision, without family intervention or advocacy. These people are alone, disoriented, being interrogated, at least in Bayron’s case, under pain and influence of medication.”

Such incidents are alarming to hospital workers. In Los Angeles, two health care professionals who asked not to be identified by KFF Health News, out of concern for their livelihoods, said that ICE and hospital administrators, at public and private hospitals, frequently block staff from contacting family members for people in custody, even to find out about their health conditions or what medications they’re on. That violates medical ethics, they said.

Blackout procedures are another concern.

“They help facilitate, whether intentionally or not, the disappearance of patients,” said one worker, a physician for the county’s Department of Health Services and part of a coalition of concerned health workers from across the region.

At Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, nurses publicly expressed outrage over what they saw as hospital cooperation with ICE and the flouting of patient rights. Legacy Health has sent a cease and desist letter to the nurses’ union, accusing it of making “false or misleading statements.”

“I was really disgusted,” said Blaire Glennon, a nurse who quit her job at the hospital in December. She said numerous patients were brought to the hospital by ICE with serious injuries they sustained while being detained. “I felt like Legacy was doing massive human rights violations.”

Handcuffed While Unconscious

Two days before Christmas, Chabolla, Peña’s attorney, received a call from ICE with the answer she and Romero had been waiting for. Peña was at Victor Valley Global Medical Center, about 10 miles from Adelanto, and about to be released.

Excited, Romero and her family made the two-hour-plus drive from Glendale to the hospital to take him home.

When they got there, they found Peña intubated and unconscious, his arm and leg still handcuffed to the hospital bed. He’d had a severe seizure on Dec. 20, but no one had told his family or legal team, his attorney said.

Tim Lineberger, a spokesperson for Victor Valley Global Medical Center’s parent company, KPC Health, said he could not comment on specific patient cases, because of privacy protections. He said the hospital’s policies on patient information disclosure comply with state and federal law.

Peña was finally cleared to go home on Jan. 5. No court date has been set, and his family is filing a petition to adjust his legal status based on his son’s military service. For now, he still faces deportation proceedings.

The federal government could face a partial shutdown starting Friday if Senate Democrats refuse to vote for a spending bill that includes billions of dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Senate Republicans currently lack the 60 votes required to advance the measure. 

Democratic Congressmembers Doris Matsui and Mike Thompson urged the Senate to reject the bill during a press conference Tuesday outside the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento. Protestors for weeks have rallied outside the building against the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in places like Minnesota and California.

Matsui, of Sacramento, said now is the time to stand up. 

“We voted against the DHS bill, the funding bill,” she said, referring to House Democrats. “The Senate now has their opportunity to do that. And I think that what they’ve seen in Minneapolis will cause them to act.”

Thompson, of Napa, said cracks are emerging among Republicans who typically align with the Trump administration. 

“We saw it with the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he said. “We saw it with his nonsensical talks about Greenland. We saw it with the War Powers Act that came up and we’re seeing it now as well. Republicans better get on board or they’re going to end up on the wrong side of history.” 

Democrats in Congress are pushing for the DHS spending bill to include stronger training for ICE agents and for agents to have to identify themselves, among other measures.

Republican leaders have blamed the recent unrest on sanctuary policies in states like Minnesota and California that limit cooperation between local and federal authorities. 

Matsui and Thompson also called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Thompson said recent killings involving federal agents in Minneapolis and Los Angeles show ICE has “gone rogue.” 

“They’re led by someone who is completely incompetent,” he said. “Kristi Noem needs to go. She needs to quit, be fired or be impeached.”

But Giselle Garcia with the immigrant advocacy group NorCal Resist said she doesn’t expect Republicans to vote against additional funds for ICE. 

“From our monitoring of the issue, I don’t think they’re there yet, despite the level of violence that we’re seeing across the board,” she said. 

A NorCal Resist volunteer was hospitalized last Friday after being attacked outside of the downtown Sacramento federal building, where ICE operates. Another man was allegedly hit by a DHS vehicle, according to witnesses. 

Yet, Garcia said the federal government’s continued denial about abuses happening across the country and in Sacramento is frustrating. 

“Even with the images on the ground in Minneapolis, what we’ve seen in Chicago, LA and what’s happening here in our own city, people are still trying to deny fact,” she stressed. 

Matsui has demanded transparency from DHS and called for an independent investigation into these incidents. 

Scott Stauffer regularly protests near the parking lot entrance ICE agents typically use. He said he was shocked about the killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti over the weekend. 

Scott Stauffer Thursday, Jan. 27, 2025, near the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

“The gun was never brandished or nothing,” he said. “It wasn’t about bringing a gun to a gun fight, it was about him being able to open carry, his Second Amendment, and he got killed for it.” 

Minnesota state law allows the concealed or open carry of handguns as long as the individual has a permit, which Pretti had. 

Stauffer, who said his van was recently vandalized while he was protesting, said people’s rights are being taken away. 

“Doesn’t matter if you’re a right-wing, centrist, liberal — it’s not politics anymore,” he emphasized. “Once your rights get taken away, that goes for everybody.”

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California legislative Democrats are urging their congressional colleagues to shut down the federal government and block further funding to immigration enforcement agencies after agents shot and killed another civilian in Minnesota over the weekend.

At least 50 Democratic state senators and assemblymembers — more than half the party’s caucus — on Monday decried the slaying of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident and Veterans Affairs intensive care nurse who on Saturday was gunned down by federal immigration enforcement agents. 

The lawmakers proclaimed their solidarity with Minnesota and other cities and states that have been targeted by federal law enforcement agents. They railed against what they called the Trump administration’s militarization of American cities as some wiped away tears.

The previously bipartisan spending package, which would fund the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, awaits a vote in the U.S. Senate, where an increasing number of Democrats have vowed to filibuster it. 

But California lawmakers warned that Senate Democrats, many of whom represent battleground states, might cave and give Republicans the votes they need to push the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk.

“This message is for Sen. Chuck Schumer,” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega, Democrat of Hayward. “Do your job. Stand for something. Don’t fold again.”

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Democrat of Salinas, called for Schumer to “step aside” if he couldn’t keep his caucus in lockstep.

Rivas and his colleagues also had a message for Republican lawmakers. 

“We need you to speak out. You cannot watch these videos coming out of Minneapolis, Minn. and think that this is acceptable,” Rivas said. “We need your voice, we need your solidarity, and standing up for American values.”

In reference to the fact that Pretti was apparently carrying a permitted weapon, Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez of Los Angeles quoted a 2018 tweet from the late Charlie Kirk, which stated that the Second Amendment wasn’t for hunting or self protection, but “to ensure that free people can defend themselves if, god forbid, government became tyrannical and turned against its citizens.”

“What do you call a masked agent killing people in the street? What do you call children being taken from families?” Gonzalez said. 

He noted that the National Rifle Association condemned premature conclusions about the shooting as “dangerous and wrong.”

“Even the NRA is calling out the dangerous ignorance of federal officials trying to excuse the killing of Alex Pretti,” Gonzalez said. “When even staunch defenders of the Second Amendment recognize the need for accountability, we must listen.”

Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón addresses the media while flanked by Democratic members of the Senate and the Assembly at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento, on Jan. 26 2026.Maya C. Miller/CalMatters

So far, California Republicans have targeted their criticism mainly at Democrats. Republican legislative leadership deferred to other members of their caucus when asked for comment. 

Sen. Tony Strickland, Republican of Huntington Beach, said Democratic officials have created risky and unsafe conditions for both the agents and civilian onlookers through so-called “sanctuary” policies that limit local and state law enforcement from working with federal immigration agents. They argue that those policies create risky situations where civilians like Pretti feel they need to monitor and track officers. 

“Stop the rhetoric that ICE agents are Gestapo, that they’re secret police, that they’re Nazis,” said Assemblymember James Gallagher of Chico, the former Republican Assembly leader who recently announced his bid for the special election to fulfill the final months of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s congressional term. “This type of rhetoric is helping to contribute to the chaotic environment in places like Minnesota.”

Gallagher called Pretti’s death a “terrible thing” and called for an independent investigation and accountability. 

Legislation calls for greater ICE oversight

Some lawmakers are committing to introduce new measures to curtail the power of federal agents. 

“Certainly this is a frustrating situation because so much of the power and the authority here is in the hands of the federal government in Washington, D.C., but that doesn’t mean that the answer for us is to do nothing,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Democrat of Encino. 

Gabriel plans to introduce a bill that would require the California attorney general to conduct an independent investigation into any shooting by federal immigration enforcement agents in the state, an extension of an existing law that already requires such investigations for shootings by local and state law enforcement. He will also co-author a bill with Assemblymember Juan Carrillo that would ban federal immigration enforcement agencies from using state resources to facilitate their operations, such as staging equipment and personnel on state property.

“We have to use every tool at our disposal, every lawful opportunity that we have to use our power, our authority to think of all of the different ways that we can push back,” Gabriel said.

Also on deck for a vote in the California Senate this week is Senate Bill 747 co-authored by Sen. Aisha Wahab of Hayward and Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who is running to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in Congress, that would allow Californians to sue federal agents for civil rights violations. The bill builds upon Wiener’s measure from last year that banned federal immigration enforcement agents from wearing masks, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law.

Wiener argued that the issue should not be partisan.

“This is really about everyone’s rights under any federal administration,” Wiener told CalMatters on Monday. “Local and state law enforcement are already subject to civil rights liability if they violate someone’s rights, and federal agents effectively are not,” he said. 

“This is simply seeking to apply the same standards for all law enforcement.”

Editor's note: This story was updated Monday, Jan. 26, with the suspect's name. Police also said the suspect does not work for the federal government.

An immigrant rights advocate was hospitalized Friday morning after being attacked outside the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento — a building that houses Department of Homeland Security agents and other federal employees. 

Demonstrations have regularly been held outside of the employee parking lot ever since deportations of immigrants attending immigration court ramped up last summer. 

The victim was using his phone to record employees entering the building from a public sidewalk. 

Witnesses said the suspect — who a spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department confirmed to be 57-year-old Daniel Grafton — initially drove up to the building and dropped off a passenger who went inside. The driver then circled the block before getting out of his car to assault the victim and take his phone.

The victim, whom we’re calling  Bill for his safety, is an immigration court watch volunteer with NorCal Resist, a nonprofit that assists immigrants at risk of deportation. 

Bill said he routinely documents who enters the building. He suffered a broken nose and bruising around his eyes.

“I think that people are emboldened to take the law into their own hands by this entire situation that the president calling people like me enemies of the state,” Bill said. “It goes all the way to the top.”

According to Bill, DHS agents detained the suspect before he could drive away. A spokesperson for the police department said the man was arrested and charged with battery and robbery, and that he does not work for the federal government. 

Bill, a former Marine, said attacks like these are happening around the country and are meant to create a chilling effect for people who support immigrant communities. 

“All the people in support of ICE want to intimidate the populace and I’m not going to be intimidated, and I encourage others not to be either,” he stressed. 

Despite the attack, Bill plans to return to court watch next week and expects to volunteer even more.

Giselle Garcia, program director for NorCal Resist, condemned the attack and praised Bill’s resilience and determination. 

“Bill is the epitome of what community resistance looks like and what we hope folks will be inspired by, and join in these efforts to not allow government action and abuse to intimidate us,” Garcia said. 

DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment about either incident. 

Sacramento Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who represents the downtown area, said he was dumbfounded and embarrassed by the events unfolding outside the federal building.

“That we are having conversations at this point about really fundamental rule of law kinds of concerns is beyond troubling and shameful,” he said. “We fundamentally need to figure out how to be kinder to each other with the decency and the respect that everyone deserves.” 

Pluckebaum added that the city is considering symbolic resolutions to signal that Sacramento does not support increasingly violent immigration enforcement, both locally and nationwide.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff today conducted an oversight visit at the state’s newest and largest immigrant detention center, located in California City, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. 

In remarks to reporters, both highlighted what they described as inadequate medical care at the site. 

“The most frequent feedback we got was the inadequacy of the medical care they are receiving,” said Schiff. He described meeting a diabetic detainee who he said has not received treatment for her condition in two months. “That’s frightening,” he said.

More than 1,400 people are currently held at the California City Detention Facility, run by the private for-profit prison company CoreCivic in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It opened in late August under a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a capacity to hold 2,560 detainees.

Previously, CoreCivic operated the site as a state prison. The Newsom administration ended the contract in 2024 as it closed several state prisons because of California’s declining incarcerated population.

“They’re going to have to do something very different if they’re going to meet the medical needs of the people here, let alone adding another 1,000 people,” Padilla said.

Schiff said he spoke to people who described smelly water and a detainee who described a moldy sandwich. Both Padilla and Schiff stressed that people were being held in prison-like conditions despite many not having committed any crimes and only civil immigration offenses. 

“This is not a prison, despite the environment, so we have an equal concern for mental health care,” Padilla said. “You can imagine the experience of being detained, being threatened with deportation and the impact on you as an individual and the impact on your extended family can be traumatic. We found that mental health care here is also lacking.”

Schiff said many of the people he talked to inside were arrested at their immigration appointments. “So they were doing what they were supposed to do to become citizens or establish a lawful presence and at those appointments they were picked up and separated from family,” he said.

He also described meeting a man from Afghanistan who said he assisted the U.S. military there and would be killed by the Taliban if returned to his country. 

“They want to deport him back to Afghanistan. He was given alternatives like Sudan and elsewhere to places where he has no ties. These are the stories that we were hearing,” said Schiff.  

Before entering the facility, Schiff and Padilla said they were conducting the inspection to “respond to complaints and questions from constituents about the conditions that detainees are in” and to “see firsthand what this facility is like.” 

“On this anniversary of the second Trump administration, one year in, there are a couple things we already know his term is defined by: the cruelty and over-aggressiveness of the mass deportation agenda,” said Padilla. 

“This is a necessary part of our oversight,” said Schiff. “We’ve all been working with constituents who have been detained here or are detained here and have described the falling conditions.”

Democrats want to visit ICE centers

By law, members of Congress have a right to conduct unannounced inspections of immigration detention centers. But Padilla’s spokesman said the senators arranged the visit in advance. 

In July, House Democrats sued the administration over a policy requiring seven days advance notice for visits, which they argued violated federal law. In December 2025, federal Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the seven-day notice policy while the case plays out in court.

Following a deadly shooting incident involving an immigration officer in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a new memorandum on Jan. 8 re-imposing the seven-day notice requirement. On Jan. 19, Cobb did not immediately block this new, reinstated policy, concluding that the Jan. 8 directive was a “new agency action” that required a different legal challenge than the one previously decided. 

When President Donald Trump took office a year ago, roughly 40,000 people were being held in immigration detention across the nation. By the start of December, that number had risen by almost 75%, with nearly 66,000 people held in immigration detention across the United States and the system reportedly capable of holding 70,000 people on any given day — the highest level in U.S. history, according to government data.

California’s oversight

Last month, the California Attorney General’s office warned of “dangerous conditions” at the California City facility. In a Dec. 19 letter to Noem, attorney Michael Newman wrote the California Department of Justice “has grave concerns about the conditions at the facility and the lack of adequate medical care,” after inspecting the facility.   

Attorney General Rob Bonta said the facility had “opened prematurely and was not prepared to handle the needs of the incoming population.”

Ryan Gustin, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, previously told Calmatters that the site has robust medical and mental health care on site, including around-the-clock access to those services. He said those services adhere to “standards set forth by our government partners.”

“There are no delays in individuals getting their prescription medications,” Gustin said.

In November, detainees at the facility sued, alleging the facility is polluted by sewage leaks and insect infestations, and that detainees can’t get proper medical attention for life-threatening conditions.