Dear Community Member,

As your Federal Representative, my priority is to serve the people and fight for the values of California’s 19th Congressional District. That includes providing oversight and ensuring accountability, especially over the current Administration. I do that by showing up and speaking up. That’s why I traveled to the Adelanto U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center, the largest immigration detention facility in California. The visit was my way to conduct direct congressional oversight of this Administration’s deportation policies and ensure due process for the immigrant detainees.

Rep. Panetta discusses his visit to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center  and the need for Congressional oversight. Press play or click HERE to watch Rep. Panetta’s takeaways.

The visit marked my seventh oversight trip to an immigration or border facility since I’ve been in Congress. I’ve made it a priority to go beyond the one-word slogans, headlines, and emotions in order to obtain the evidence and see the realities of our immigration system firsthand. That type of hands-on work has helped my extensive efforts to fix our broken immigration system and is essential, now more than ever, as the Trump Administration recently secured $170 billion in funding for immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for the expansion of federal detention operations, through the recent reconciliation law. That federal funding will double the detention capacity and increase the number of detainees at ICE facilities, which currently is around 56,000.

Earlier this year, the deportation policy of the Administration rightfully targeted those who were serious or violent felons. As we have seen, however, that policy wrongfully expanded to include those without criminal records. That expansion of this Administration's sweeping deportation policy has affected many throughout the country and brought fear, anxiety, and violence in many communities. This has prevented many from living their lives and affected families, businesses, livelihoods, and even our local economy. 

At the Adelanto Detention Facility, I was told that there were over 1,600 people detained, a majority of whom officials claimed have felony criminal records. However, I pressed the officials and was told that the actual breakdown of detainees was roughly 58 percent who had felony criminal records, and as many as 42 percent detained in the facility had a minor or no criminal record at all. Most of the detainees are from California, but not all. The average length of detention at the Adelanto facility is 34 days on average. My objective was to determine if the detainees in that facility were receiving the proper care and services and, most importantly, ensure that they were receiving due process.

During my two-hour tour of the facility, I was taken to see a number of areas including intake, medical, mental health, kitchen, dining, recreation yards, general population units, cells, special housing unit, law library, lawyer meeting rooms, the five immigration court rooms, the family visitation area, and more. The facility is a privately-run permanent building, rather than the expansive temporary tent complexes that I’ve seen in Texas, and was built over 10 years ago.

During the tour, I pressed the facility managers and ICE officials about the detainees, including their country of origin, location of arrest, criminal records, types of crimes, gang affiliation, length of stay, access to attorneys, immigration court hearings, legal process, appellate process, medical care, medication, mental health, food and water availability, cell mates, hours in and out of cells, phone and computer usage, recreation time, communication with family members, and so much more. I pushed to observe an immigration court hearing and to speak to volunteer attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who were representing detainees.

Rep. Panetta discussed the goals of his oversight trip  to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Click HERE to read coverage in a local outlet.

The conditions at Adelanto ICE Processing Center are similar to that of a county jail. I say that as a Member of Congress who has visited multiple permanent and temporary ICE detainee facilities and as a former prosecutor who spent time at county jails and state prisons. These types of detention facilities are not pleasant, nor are they meant to be. There always is room for more resources for detainees. My tour provided me with a transparent look into the operations of this particular detention facility and how taxpayer money is being used for the care and conditions of those detained there. Moreover, I observed immigration court proceedings and saw firsthand the work of volunteer ACLU attorneys on site working to ensure due process for the detainees.

Congressional oversight on this Administration’s deportation policy will continue. We must show up, speak up, and ask the tough questions at these types of detention facilities across the nation. We will continue to advocate for a fair, humane, and modern immigration system. We will continue to secure our border and work hard to fix our broken immigration system. We must always work to ensure due process, not just in our community, but all across our country. That’s why I will continue to fulfill my responsibilities to conduct oversight and, as always, serve the people and fight for our values in California’s 19th Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Jimmy Panetta
United States Representative
19th Congressional District, California