Senator Pérez issues statement on immigration hunger strike by detainees at Adelanto immigration prison in San Bernardino County
SACRAMENTO – Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) issued the following statement on a hunger strike underway at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center’s Annex, Desert View private immigration detention facility in San Bernardino County:
“Detainees at the Adelanto Detention Center are engaging in one the oldest methods of civil disobedience—a hunger strike. They are demanding improved conditions, proper medical and mental health care, nutritious food, accountability for detainee deaths, bond reform, and the right to organize. This act of resistance is to demand accountability from GEO Group, the private company that operates this detention center and generates millions in profit. Detainees are sacrificing themselves to bring attention to this moral stain on our nation.
“Just last week, California’s Attorney General released the latest findings of ‘cruel, inhumane and unacceptable’ conditions inside multiple ICE detention facilities that were inspected. The Attorney General cited issues such as undercooked food, limited access to clean drinking water, inadequate and delayed medical care, and six deaths in less than a year, underscoring the need for ‘greater oversight and accountability.’
“This is why I have authored SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act, which would establish a statewide inspection and compliance framework for large involuntary residential facilities, including privately-operated detention facilities like Adelanto. SB 995 is grounded in a simple principle--if detention centers operate in California, they must meet California’s standards. This measure has received bipartisan support which should demonstrate to everyone that this is an urgent human rights concern. Masuma Khan is the namesake for SB 995. She is a longtime Altadena resident and Eaton Fire survivor who was held in a cold detention facility without warm clothes, proper food, or access to her medication. Khan represents one of the many people with no criminal history who have been targeted by the Trump Administration and treated with cruelty rather than basic dignity.
“By passing SB 995, we can hold these detention centers accountable for providing adequate medical and mental health care, nutritious food, improved conditions, and greater transparency. No person should be treated as less than human at these facilities.”
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Senator Sasha Renée Pérez is Chair of the Senate Education Committee and represents the 25th Senate District that includes the communities of Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.