Civil rights advocates are pressing authorities to explain why a recent protest at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center prompted a two-day lockdown of the facility that sparked a skirmish between guards and more than 150 detainees, resulting in four injuries.
The GEO Group, which operates the private, for-profit prison for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has the authority to impose lockdowns in response to any credible threat to help ensure the safety and well-being of those within the facility, said a spokesman for ICE.
Such threats include an increase in violence within or around the facility, escalation of detainee tension and agitation, or anticipation of a significant increase in violence or disorder. The lockdown, ICE spokesman Alexx Pons said in an email, was in effect from June 12-14 in response to a planned detainee protest at the facility, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the United States.
Melissa Flores, a spokeswoman for Al Otro Lado, an immigration legal aid advocacy nonprofit that represents one of the detainees injured during the fracas, said the prisoners were engaging in a peaceful protest inside the center because all forms of communication — telephone, television and newspapers — had been suspended and they were forced to remain in their cells 23 hours a day during the lockdown.
She said detainees had not been able to communicate with their attorneys or families since another lockdown at the center on June 7, prompted by a protest outside the center that turned violent.
Peaceful protest turns violent
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the June 7 protest began with a march of about 300 protesters from Highway 395 at Rancho Road to the detention center. At about 3:45 p.m., some protesters became violent and vandalized the building and cars parked outside with rocks and spray paint, prompting deputies from every High Desert station to respond.
One protester stuffed a rag into the gas tank of a vehicle and was about to set it on fire, but deputies thwarted him by firing rubber projectiles, striking the man and forcing him to run back into the crowd of protesters to hide from deputies, according to a sheriff’s press release.
An employee at the detention center was struck by a rock hurled through a window, but did not require medical attention. Deputies received reports that protesters were attempting to breach the building, so they formed a line in front of it and faced off with protesters, some of whom were hurling rocks and bottles at sheriff’s vehicles, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
After two hours, deputies managed to disperse the crowd. The melee resulted in vandalism to 36 vehicles, including three sheriff’s vehicles, and six broken windows at the detention center. Additionally, an Anaheim woman was arrested, according to deputies.
Detainee protest
Pons said staff initiated the second lockdown when it became privy to the planned June 12 protest via postings on social media. That’s when pandemonium erupted.
“(Detainees) became disruptive and refused multiple directives from facility staff” to return to their cells, necessitating the use of pepper spray and non-lethal rubber pellet guns to subdue them, Pons said
“Detainees ultimately complied and returned to their rooms, and facility staff were able to restore order and prevent further risk of injury to both detainees and staff,” Pons said. Medical staff assisted in the decontamination of housing units and provided prisoner examinations, he said.
“Four detainees were transferred to a nearby medical facility and were evaluated, treated and returned to Adelanto without requiring admission,” Pons said.
Prisoners punished
Civil rights attorney Rachel Steinback said in an email that she is concerned by reports that GEO Group guards deployed pepper spray against detainees and shot pepper balls and rubber bullets at them and then forced them to remain in their cells, “without access to showers or decontamination, in some cases up to 48 hours.”
Pons said detainees continue to have access to showers, restrooms, the day room, law library, and outdoor recreation areas. Additionally, he said, “Telephones remain operable and Adelanto has increased the overall availability of communication time for detainees given the current social restrictions.’
Attorneys consider suing
In a letter dated Friday, June 19, to Warden James Janecka, Steinback demanded that all evidence of the June 12 incident, as well as other alleged use-of-force incidents dating back to May 20 — documents, surveillance video and other electronically stored information — be preserved as evidence for a possible civil lawsuit.
Melissa Flores, with Al Otro Lado, said her organization also is considering litigation.
Steinback alleges that a disinfecting agent used to clean the facility and cells due to the coronavirus pandemic — a chemical called HDQ Neutral — is having an adverse impact on prisoners, causing “serious injuries, ranging from nose bleeds, burning eyes, blisters and migraines to respiratory issues and, in some cases, hospitalization,” according to her letter.
“Detainees who have complained about the chemicals and who have refused — on health and safety grounds — to go into their noxiously-fumed cells are being pepper sprayed by GEO Group staff and shot at with rubber bullets until they ‘comply,’ ” Steinback said in her letter.
Pons said ICE stands by its commitment to maintaining the highest facility standards of cleanliness and sanitation. He said “disinfectant formulations” used at Adelanto are compliant with detention standards, registered by the Environmental Protection Agency, and are used according to manufacture instructions for routine cleaning and maintenance of the facility.
“Moreover, our staff follow recommendations outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for cleaning and disinfecting practices,” Pons said. “Any assertion or claim to the contrary is nothing more than a false ongoing disinformation campaign against the agency.”
