The Brief

A 39-year-old former DACA recipient died in ICE custody this week. Ismael Ayala-Uribe had been detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville since August, when he was arrested by immigration agents.

Ayala-Uribe is the 14th person to die in immigration custody in the U.S. this year. ICE said in a statement that an investigation into the cause of death is underway, and community groups are demanding an independent report on what happened.

The death comes as Adelanto has seen a surge of hundreds more detainees since immigration agents ramped up enforcement in Southern California this summer. The privately run detention center has faced accusations of medical abuse and neglect, and some lawmakers recently were turned away when they tried to enter the facility.

But experts told LAist that they doubted much would come from ICE's investigation into the death. Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said government oversight of deaths in its detention centers is limited and flawed.

" Accountability and transparency in this space following a death in custody has always been severely lacking. It's even more lacking now," Perez said.

What happened?

Ayala-Uribe died in the early hours of Monday morning, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency said he was evaluated by a medical provider at Adelanto on Sept. 18, given medication and returned to his dorm. Three days later, on Sunday, he was sent to a nearby hospital, where he was evaluated for an "abscess on his buttock" and scheduled for surgery.

The next day, he was dead.

The center has been under scrutiny for its treatment of people detained there for years and has been in the spotlight again in recent months as it received a surge of people detained in this summer's immigration sweeps.

The advocacy group Disability Rights California visited the facility in June and interviewed 18 people detained there. It then issued a report claiming that detainees faced "inadequate access to medical treatment, such as life-saving medication and wound care, and exposure to widespread respiratory illnesses."

"Due to the surging numbers of people at Adelanto, conditions appear to have quickly deteriorated,” that report reads.

What is ICE required to do after a death in custody?

When a person dies in immigration detention, ICE is required to post the news within two business days. The agency is then legally required to publish all its reports on the death within 90 days. Those reports are posted online.

According to ICE's policy posted online, the agency "conducts medical reviews, as well as oversight and compliance investigations," and its Office of Professional Responsibility examines the circumstances of the death. ICE's review is then given to Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Critics have questioned the accuracy of ICE investigations into in-custody deaths for years. In 2024, the ACLU issued a report looking at the deaths of 52 people in ICE custody between 2017 and 2021.

"ICE’s investigations, formal and informal reports and recommendations in response to deaths in custody are structured to avoid fault and disclaim agency accountability for the death of detained immigrants," that report reads, in part.

Two immigration experts told LAist that the offices at the Department of Homeland Security responsible for investigating deaths like Ayala-Uribe's have been eroded under the second Donald Trump administration.

Heidi Altman with the National Immigration Law Center cited recent job cuts in DHS offices such as the offices for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Immigration Detention Ombudsman.

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement to LAist that those offices obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS' mission.

"Rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, they often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations," according to McLaughlin.

The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman conducts oversight and will "independently examine immigration detention to promote safe, humane conditions," according to its government website.

" You start seeing things like the dismantling of the oversight bodies that provided the very, very little accountability that was there for abuses and medical negligence and custody," Altman said. "And you just know that these detention centers are becoming increasingly dangerous places for people to be."

McLaughlin wrote that all legally required functions continue to be performed and that DHS remains committed to civil rights.

What about lawmakers?

There are other paths for oversight of conditions at detention centers. Lawmakers can launch their own investigations. In July, Sen. Jon Ossoff issued a report on the experiences of pregnant women and children in immigration detention, including inadequate medical care. That investigation is ongoing.

"Obstruction of Congressional oversight by the Department of Homeland Security has been an impediment to site visits and interviews with detainees," that report claims.

In a statement provided to LAist, Rep. Raul Ruiz called for a full investigation into Ayala-Uribe's death.

"Congress has a duty to provide strong oversight to ensure that all individuals in custody are treated with dignity and receive timely, appropriate care," Ruiz said.

His district includes Eastern Coachella Valley, and parts of Imperial and San Bernardino counties.

What’s another path forward?

Perez, with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said these limitations on government oversight meant a private lawsuit might be the most effective route for families, such as Ayala-Uribe’s, to take. But he noted that lawsuits are costly and shifts the burden to individuals rather than the state.

"Lawsuits are slow. Lawsuits are expensive. Lawsuits are emotionally trying," Perez said, adding that it means those who have lost loved ones are "continuously traumatized" and must be the ones to labor in getting justice.

LAist reached out to the lawyer for Ayala-Uribe's family but didn't receive a response before publishing.

The federal government, under a court order to immediately improve conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, said late Thursday it is working with the private contractor that runs the facility to improve conditions.

Allegations of inhumane conditions at Adelanto have been at the center of protests for months. The privately run detention facility 90 miles from downtown L.A. in San Bernardino County is now over capacity, after being nearly empty 18 months ago. Four people have died at Adelanto since September 2025.

On July 16, a U.S. District Court judge ordered federal officials to immediately improve medical care, disability accommodations, and daily conditions for people held at the Adelanto.

In her order, Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes gave the Department of Homeland Security 14 days to submit a plan to address alleged deficiencies long-term.

The government’s response, filed just ahead of Thursday’s deadline for a long-term improvement plan, was short on details and included pushback. Lawyers for the federal government notified the court they plan to appeal the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and asked the court to hold off on enforcing the July 16 order until that appeal is decided.

What we do know:

• According to filings, the defendants and plaintiffs have agreed on candidates for a monitor to keep an eye on overall conditions at the facility. They have not agreed on a monitor to focus on medical conditions. The government has proposed two candidates in court filings.

• In their remediation plan, federal officials told the court that the privately run facility is already in compliance with several of the standards set in the court order, including providing timely diagnostic testing for health issues, ensuring continuous access to over-the-counter and prescribed medications and informing people held at the facility of their patients’ rights.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in their filed plan that they have been reviewing the contract with GEO and will work to bring the facility into compliance with the full court order.

Reaction to the latest developments

A spokesperson for GEO referred LAist to ICE for comment.

In an emailed, unsigned statement, the Department of Homeland Security said claims that conditions at Adelanto are substandard are false.

“All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” the statement said, in part.

Ryan Smith, an ICE assistant field office director, told the court in a declaration that the July 16 preliminary injunction “frustrates and impedes” the agency's ability to enforce immigration laws.

Smith’s declaration said the facility already complies with many of the immediate requirements of the injunction, and that other requirements would create safety risks or an “undue burden” for ICE.

Carl Bergquist, general counsel for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, which is one of the organizations representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the plaintiffs plan to formally oppose the government’s request to stay the injunction.

He also expressed concern that other aspects of the court order — including an immediate requirement to provide 24-hour access to clean drinking water, healthy meals and hygiene products — remain unaddressed, despite the government’s claims.

“All of that was supposed to be immediate upon the order coming out,” said Bergquist. “We believe we've seen instances of some of that not happening already. So that's a problem.”

Bergquist said his organization has monitored conditions at Adelanto since the July 16 order through visits once or twice a week to the detention center about 90 miles from downtown L.A. in San Bernardino County. He said they’ve also taken new reports from people who are detained there either through CHIRLA’s hotline or through family members.

Background on the lawsuit

Adelanto has a long history of complaints about its conditions. The facility was nearly shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic due to unsafe conditions.

A court ordered the facility to stop accepting new detainees, and the population remained relatively low, down to fewer than a handful of detainees by the end of the Biden administration.

The population climbed sharply with the start of intense ICE enforcement in the L.A. area in June 2025.

Bergquist called the rapid change from a nearly empty facility to one that is now over capacity “a recipe for what we're seeing now.”

Concerns about current conditions at Adelanto have been documented by state officials for more than a year. An amicus brief filed in June by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office inspects immigration detention centers in the state, details several problems at the facility found during a July 2025 inspection.

“The Attorney General’s office found, among other things, a facility that was overwhelmed with the rapid population increase; insufficient staffing; failures to attend to urgent medical needs, to care for individuals with chronic conditions, and to ensure specialty care referrals; and use of force concerns,” according to the brief. The brief said inspectors heard reports of “murky and dirty” water and improperly cooked food.

“Almost every person interviewed complained about the quality of the food,” according to the brief.

The lawsuit that led to the July injunction was filed six months after Bonta’s inspection on behalf of four plaintiffs representing Adelanto detainees as a class.

They asked the court to “to end the unlawful and unconstitutional conditions at Adelanto, prohibit Defendants from violating their civil, constitutional, and human rights, and require Defendants to provide lawfully adequate conditions,” the complaint reads. “In other words, they ask to be treated like human beings.”

The GEO group runs Adelanto for federal officials under a contract that runs through 2029.

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David Wagner

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LAist

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Who is responsible for conditions?

In court filings, the federal government has argued it cannot be held responsible for the actions of GEO, its contractor. According to the lawsuit, ICE’s current contract with Adelanto pays GEO more than $400 million a year to run the facility. The contract was extended for five years in 2024, and is now set to expire in 2029.

While issuing the preliminary injunction, Sykes ruled that the plaintiffs demonstrated they are likely to prevail, “or at least, raise serious questions” on their claims that the facility violated their Fifth Amendment protections against inhuman conditions and will suffer “irreparable harm” if the courts don’t grant preliminary injunctive relief.

In its Thursday request to stay the injunction, the federal government reiterated its position that ICE does not “own, staff, or run” Adelanto and cannot address the conditions there on its own.

“The difficulty is not the conditions the Order describes; it is that the Order commands ICE to produce results inside a facility that The GEO Group, Inc. — a private federal contractor that is not a party in the litigation — owns, staffs, and operates every hour of every day,” the filing reads.

Bergquist said Sykes has rejected those claims.

“We argued that ICE is in charge here and those arguments are spurious. The judge agreed with that and thus moved ahead” with the preliminary injunction.

The filing states that ICE’s contract with GEO requires the facility to comply with several sets of national standards for detention and correctional health.

The government also argues several parts of the order go beyond the contractual obligations between GEO and ICE, and could be dangerous if implemented.

An independent monitor found ICE also fails to provide adequate medical care at its facility in California City.

Bergquist said lawsuits are challenging the conditions at ICE detention centers nationwide.

“I think in most of these cases that I'm aware of, including California City, the conditions are absolutely not satisfactory and injunctions are being put in place,” Bergquist said.

Details of the government's response

On July 16, a federal judge ordered the government to create a plan to improve conditions at Adelanto. The government submitted that plan on July 30. Here’s how federal officials responded:

Medical care

The requirement: Implement “documented health intake screening” for everyone held at the facility within eight hours of arrival.

ICE response: ICE says standards at the facility already require comprehensive health screening within 12 hours. They say they’ve asked GEO to comply with the standard by reducing the maximum screening time down to eight hours.

The requirement: Ensure access to “primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care” for everyone held at the facility.

ICE response: ICE says they’ve asked GEO to comply with this standard and are reviewing the standards set by the agency’s contract with the company.

The requirement: Ensure timely diagnostic testing and required timeframes for review and follow-up on results.

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant.

The requirement: Continuous provision of ordered medications.

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant.

The requirement: Make sure all patients are informed of their rights, with translations as needed.

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant.

Disability Accommodations

The requirement: Implement a system to identify and track anyone with qualifying disabilities.

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant, but that GEO is requesting additional staff to manage the process.

The requirement: Provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant, but that GEO is requesting additional staff to manage the process.

The requirement: Provide materials, with translations as needed, to inform people of their rights to accommodations.

ICE response: ICE says the facility is already compliant.

Grievance system

The requirement: Ensure there is a process for people to confidentially submit complaints or comments to the independent monitors.

ICE response: ICE says it is reviewing its contract with GEO and that the company will establish a new handwritten grievance process.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada would take less water from the Colorado River under a proposal announced Friday by the federal government to stave off crisis in the beleaguered waterway.

The proposal from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts for now. But it’s a temporary fix as the states that rely on the river still fight over a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource that powers huge swaths of the Western U.S.

Under the plan, the Lower Basin states could face collective cuts up to 3 million acre-feet (130 billion cubic feet) through 2036, “subject to hydrology,” according to a press release by the Department of the Interior. That’s about enough water to serve more than 25 million people a year.

The plan would also allow annual releases between 5 million and 12 million acre-feet from Lake Powell, the basin’s second-largest reservoir. Under the 10-year federal framework, water management decisions will be made every two years.

“This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the Basin States to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the press release.

The proposed cuts in the Lower Basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada would be the biggest to date and could have huge impacts across cities and farms — higher water prices, increased groundwater reliance, more agriculture out of production and conservation mandates in places where none have existed before.

The federal plan comes after years of deadlocked negotiations and a record-dry winter that tipped Colorado River reservoirs to combined record lows. Federal officials are expected to finalize the plan in the coming days.

More than 40 million people in seven U.S. states, several tribal nations and Mexico, as well as farmers, wildlife, industries and hydropower, rely on the dwindling 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) Colorado River. Years of overuse combined with rising temperatures and drought have severely depleted flows in the Colorado today compared with decades past.

After a slow start, a program that aims to bring thousands of Angelenos living with serious mental illness under court-led care has seen a spike in petitions filed in recent months, Los Angeles County officials said.

CARE Court allows family members, first responders and others to ask a court — by way of a petition — to step in with a voluntary care agreement for someone living with serious, untreated mental illness, such as schizophrenia, to receive community-based mental health services.

If the agreement fails, a judge could order the individual to sign on to a treatment plan.

Since launching in L.A. County in December 2023, the program saw thousands fewer petitions each year than were initially projected.

But county officials said petitions filed in L.A. County jumped by about 85% between November 2025 and March 2026, with March seeing a total of 68 petitions.

Martin Jones, a program manager with the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, attributed the increase to working with hospitals, first responders and other groups to identify and refer people who might need help.

“We’re doing quite a bit of work to put tools in their hands to also help them identify and refer folks to us who might benefit from the support,” Jones told LAist. “I think we’re approaching the project from several fronts and we’re seeing the results of that.”

Jones added that a broadening of the diagnostic criteria in January to include people living with bipolar I disorder with psychotic features has also led to more petitions.

A ‘broken system’ 

Proponents of CARE Court say it provides a less restrictive and structured way to stabilize people living with a mental illness, and they say the recent increase in petitions shows that the program is gaining traction.

Some mental health and civil liberties advocates don’t see it as a positive development.

“The number of petitions says nothing about outcomes, which is the real point of the program,” said Eve Garrow, policy analyst at the ACLU of Southern California. “Positive outcomes are really miniscule compared to the population in need.”

Analysis of the program statewide has shown that about half of the petitions end up getting dismissed, but L.A. County officials say more than 4,000 Californians statewide have been set up with alternative county services when a CARE agreement or plan is not appropriate.

Some critics, including Garrow, have called the program a waste of taxpayer money.

An analysis by the state Assembly Committee on the Judiciary on CARE Court looked at the 100 participants in the program statewide in fiscal year 2024 and found the cost per person was about $713,000.

Garrow said CARE Court ultimately doesn’t address the underlying problem: a mental and behavioral health system that is underfunded.

“Basically what it does is it slaps a court order onto a broken system instead of fixing the system,” Garrow said.

Between Dec. 1, 2023, and June 30, 2026, there were 1,111 petitions filed in L.A. County, far below the roughly 3,800 state officials projected the county could expect annually.

An L.A. County Department of Mental Health spokesperson said that through June 2026, 21 people had graduated from a 12-month CARE court program, with four additional participants scheduled to graduate within the next year.

The department added that, in L.A. County, "63% of CARE Court participants have opted to continue receiving services and support through CARE instead of graduating."