Adelanto ICE Processing Center + Desert View Annex (GEO Group)
Overview
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center and its adjacent Desert View Annex form the largest ICE detention complex in California, with 2,690 beds operated by GEO Group in the High Desert of San Bernardino County. The facility has become a focal point of the national detention conditions crisis, with multiple deaths, a major federal lawsuit, and a tripling of solitary confinement.
Key Details
- Capacity: 2,690 beds (main facility + Desert View Annex)
- Current population: average daily population 1,587 as of April 21, 2026; ~2,000 held at peak in spring 2026 (per LAist/state reporting)
- Operator: GEO Group (for-profit)
- Annual contract value: $142M+ from ICE
- Population surge: From 7 detainees in 2023 to 1,570 in 2025
Deaths in Custody
- Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, DACA recipient — died September 2025
- Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, 56 — died October 2025 (detained only ~1 week)
- Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano — died March 25, 2026 (14th national ICE death of 2026)
Hunger Strike (May 2026)
As of May 21, 2026, detainees in the Desert View Annex were on hunger strike, demanding improved conditions: proper medical and mental-health care, nutritious food, accountability for detainee deaths, bond reform, and the right to organize. State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez issued a statement in support. The strike followed Adelanto’s ranking among the top 10 U.S. facilities by share of detainees held in segregation.
Conditions
- Solitary confinement tripled: 14 people in May 2025 to 105 by August 2025; Adelanto now ranks among the top 10 U.S. facilities by share of population in segregation (LAist, 2026)
- CA AG Bonta report: Staffing levels have not kept pace with population surge; conditions deteriorated
- Federal lawsuit (January 2026): Coalition of immigrant advocacy groups alleges medical neglect, inhumane conditions, systemic abuse, failure to provide basic care, food, water, sanitary conditions
- Detainee letters: Describe isolation, chronic medical conditions going untreated, no specialist access
Sources
- ABC7 — Federal lawsuit alleges inhumane conditions
- Austin Kocher — ICE Reports 14th Death of 2026 at Adelanto
- LA Public Press — Immigrants denounce lack of medical care
- CA AG — Inhumane Conditions at Adelanto
- LA Today — Solitary confinement spike
- KVCR — Letters describe isolation, medical concerns
- LAist — Solitary at Adelanto (2026)
- Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez — Statement on Adelanto hunger strike (May 2026)