The Fight

CoreCivic reopened the former Tallache Valley State Prison in California City as the California City Detention Facility in August 2025, making it California’s largest immigration detention center with 2,560 beds. It opened without clear local permits and without public process. Within months, detained people were reporting conditions severe enough to generate a landmark federal lawsuit — and a rare preliminary injunction.

The facility sits in the high desert of eastern Kern County, roughly 100 miles north of Los Angeles. California City has a population of about 14,000. CoreCivic operates the facility under contract with ICE and projected it would reach full capacity by early 2026 as the agency’s mass-arrest campaign accelerated.

The Fight

On November 12, 2025, the ACLU filed Gomez Ruiz et al. v. ICE (N.D. Cal.) on behalf of seven detained people. The case alleged systematic violations of the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and the Rehabilitation Act, documenting:

• Medical neglect of people with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other serious conditions — including failure to provide prescribed medications or specialist referrals
• Excessive solitary confinement and frequent lockdowns leaving people with no programming or human contact
• Near-freezing temperatures in housing units with no adequate clothing or blankets
• Blocked attorney access — no contact visits, making legal representation nearly impossible
• Disability neglect — no sign language interpreters, no wheelchairs, no reasonable accommodations

On February 11, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction — one of the few granted against an ICE detention facility in the Trump second-term enforcement surge. The order:

• Requires emergency medical services, specialist access, and prescription medication fulfillment
• Mandates attorney contact visits
• Requires warm clothing and blankets
• Appoints a court monitor
• Grants provisional class certification covering 1,000+ detainees

Timeline

• 2025-08: CoreCivic reopens former state prison at California City as ICE detention facility — no local permits
• 2025-11-12: ACLU files Gomez Ruiz et al. v. ICE (N.D. Cal.) alleging medical neglect, solitary abuse, freezing conditions, attorney access denial
• 2025-12: Congress responds — 26 members led by Reps. Nanette Barragán and Judy Chu demand federal investigation of CoreCivic for disability rights violations
• 2026-01: Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and Rep. Ro Khanna, conduct oversight visits; detainees describe inhumane treatment directly to senators
• 2026-02-11: District court grants preliminary injunction; provisional class certification for 1,000+ detainees
• 2026-02: ACLU files motion seeking emergency medical care for named plaintiffs with life-threatening conditions
• 2026 (ongoing): Compliance monitoring underway; CoreCivic/ICE contesting scope

Key Actors

• Plaintiffs: Seven detained people with serious medical conditions (class: 1,000+ at facility)
• Counsel: ACLU National, ACLU of Northern California, Prison Law Office
• Kyle Virgien (ACLU): lead attorney, described court ruling as affirming ICE conduct was “inhumane, dangerous, and a direct violation of the Constitution”
• Reps. Nanette Barragán + Judy Chu: Led 26-member congressional demand for disability rights investigation
• Sens. Alex Padilla + Adam Schiff: January 2026 oversight visits
• CoreCivic: Facility operator, contesting injunction terms
• ICE/DHS: Defendants

Why This Fight Matters

California City is the largest ICE detention facility in California. Its opening — without local permits, without public process, in a remote desert city — exemplifies the expansion playbook: reactivate surplus prison infrastructure, bypass local accountability, and operate under federal sovereign immunity until conditions become judicially indefensible.

The preliminary injunction is notable precisely because courts almost never issue them in immigration detention conditions cases. That a federal judge found conditions bad enough to warrant one at a facility that had been operating for less than six months signals an extreme baseline failure. The court monitor mechanism creates an ongoing record — which may support future contempt proceedings if CoreCivic does not comply.

Sources

• ACLU: Immigrants Sue Over Inhumane Conditions at California’s Largest ICE Detention Center
• ACLU: District Court Grants Preliminary Order Prohibiting Abhorrent Conditions
• ACLU: Gomez Ruiz et al. v. ICE — case page
• Prison Law Office: California City case page
• ACLU: Inside California City — detainees describe medical neglect
• Truthout: ACLU Suit Targets “Dire” Conditions at CoreCivic-Run ICE Jail in California