South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna ‘Horrified’ After Visit to California City ICE Detention Center

A Bay Area lawmaker said conditions at the newest immigration jail in California amounted to “a violation of human rights” after an oversight visit this week.

South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna described what he called the “systemic neglect” of more than 900 people currently held at the California City Detention Facility, a private prison in the Mojave Desert, which opened in late August under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We’re treating these people like animals, not like human beings … It’s an embarrassment for the country,” he told KQED. “Whatever you think about the consequences for people who are undocumented, we should all agree that you treat people with dignity.”

Khanna’s visit comes at a time when ICE is locking up more people than ever in its history — roughly 69,000 as of late December — as the Trump administration continues its massive ramp-up in immigration enforcement as part of an aggressive campaign to deport millions of non-citizens.

Advocates have raised alarms over poor conditions in ICE detention as the number of in-custody deaths surged to its highest level in more than 20 years, with 32 people dying in 2025.

Congress has a legal right to inspect immigration detention centers, even unannounced. But over the past year, ICE has repeatedly denied access to politicians who have tried to exercise their power of oversight. Last July, several House Democrats sued the Trump administration after ICE issued a policy requiring seven days advance notice to schedule a visit. Last month, a federal judge blocked that policy while the case unfolded.

Khanna’s visit to the California City facility was pre-arranged. His office first reached out to ICE on Dec. 4 to set up the visit, which took place Jan. 5, a staff member said.

Khanna said he and an aide spent about three hours there, and took an official tour of the facility — which is set to become ICE’s largest in the state, with capacity for nearly 26,000 detainees. Khanna was reportedly told there were 1,428 detainees, including 215 women. The most recently available ICE data available, from Dec. 26, shows 922 detainees — although that number could have increased over the past two weeks.

The lawmaker said he also had two group sessions where he was able to talk with 47 detained people who had signed up to meet him. No prison staff was present in the meetings, he said.

“During the tour, [the warden and other prison officials] were showing us they were going by the book, and they took standards really seriously,” he said. “Then when we met the detainees, I was just floored.”

Khanna said he spoke with a man who said he had blood in his urine and was still waiting for medical care after seven days. He said people described rocks in their food, undrinkable water, punishing lockdowns four times a day and no-contact visits with family members.

“It was really dehumanizing, and many of them were in tears,” he said. “Some of them had been in this country for over a decade, paying taxes, and they’re just shocked that they had been sent to this facility.”

Khanna said he was particularly alarmed by the lack of medical care. On the day he visited, he said, he saw only one doctor handling a clinic waiting room filled with roughly 40 patients.

CoreCivic, the company that owns and operates the facility, said the safety and health of people in its custody is its top priority.

The facility employs licensed health care providers, who “[take] seriously their role and responsibility to provide high-quality healthcare, available 24/7, to the individuals in our care,” said CoreCivic public affairs director Ryan Gustin, in a statement emailed to KQED. “Our health services teams follow both CoreCivic’s standards for medical care and the standards set forth by our government partners. All individuals have daily access to sign up for medical care, including mental health services.”

Gustin added that the company’s immigration facilities are closely monitored by ICE and required to undergo regular reviews and audits “to ensure an appropriate standard of living and care for all detainees.”

ICE did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But information the agency is legally required to make public indicates that, as of Dec. 26, 2025, the most recent inspection of the California City facility took place “pre-occupancy,” with another inspection due at an unspecified date in 2026.

A state-authorized inspection was conducted in September by Disability Rights California, a nonprofit watchdog organization with investigative powers under state and federal law to protect the rights of people with physical, developmental and psychiatric disabilities. The group found that conditions at the detention center were dangerous for disabled people and that health care access was broadly lacking.

In October, immigrant rights organizations filed a lawsuit alleging that CoreCivic began operating the ICE facility without first obtaining state and local permits. Then, in November, detainees at the facility sued, alleging the place is polluted by sewage leaks and insect infestations, and that detainees can’t get proper medical attention for life-threatening conditions.

Last month, the California Attorney General’s office sent out its own inspection team, as mandated under state law, and then issued a sharply worded letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling out “dangerous and inadequate living conditions.”

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

ICE’s $130 million two-year contract with CoreCivic for the California City facility — formerly used as a state prison but vacant since 2023 — was enabled by Congress’s passage last summer of a budget bill that included $170 billion for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement priorities — including $45 billion specifically for detention facilities. Analysts estimate the money could allow for as many as 116,000 detention beds. By comparison, ICE held about 39,000 people in the final days of the Biden administration.

Khanna said he decided to see the inside of the facility for himself after residents in his Santa Clara County district expressed concern for loved ones who were held there. The lawmaker said he wants more of Congress to visit detention centers and hold ICE accountable.

“I think more members need to go in,” he said. “Get access to these facilities and talk to the detainees. And then we need to tell their stories. That’s our job in oversight. I did it because my constituents faced it, and I’m really glad I did and horrified to see what I discovered.”