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Welcome to Popular Information, a newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism.
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During the second Trump administration, the population detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ballooned. But little is known about what actually goes on inside ICE detention facilities. The California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ), however, just released a detailed accounting of conditions at ICE facilities in the state. The report, which involved inspections at seven ICE facilities that operate in the state, reveals a human rights crisis, including grossly inadequate access to medical care.
The Cal DOJ review team, citing Popular Information’s reporting, investigated the impact of the Trump administration’s October 2025 decision to stop processing payments for third parties who provide medical care for ICE detainees.
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Cal DOJ concluded that decision “has caused widespread disruption in the provision of appropriate medical care at facilities in California.”
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The Cal DOJ inspections uncovered numerous examples where ICE detainees were denied critical care from outside providers. During a site visit to the California City Detention Facility (Cal City) in November 2025, a patient “reported needing to see an eye specialist,” but was told that the detention center was “not referring to specialists.” Another detainee sought treatment for pain from a broken elbow, but was told that “no physical therapy or occupational therapy is offered.” A detainee requiring treatment for kidney stones was told that the detention center does not “have that.”
The report also alleges that Cal City began accepting female detainees before being “equipped to provide preventive or acute female health care on site” and was not making “referrals for offsite gynecology care.”
In November 2025, a group of detainees at Cal City filed a class action lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the lawsuit, detainees reported inhumane conditions, including “a lack of medical care.” In February 2026, the court issued a preliminary order requiring ICE to provide detainees adequate access to health care, including “timely approval and access to medical specialists.”
On February 27, 2026, Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes died after being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and “reportedly submitting multiple requests for medical attention” that his family claims were denied. Between September 2025 and March 2026, four people died at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, and “the families of the deceased allege medical care deficiencies” in all four instances, according to Cal DOJ.
Despite the documented issues, as of today, ICE has still not resumed reimbursement for third-party medical providers. The freeze in reimbursements has coincided with a massive spike in detainee deaths across the country.