San Bernardino County, CA - They Treat Us Like Dogs in Cages,” the alarming new report from Disability Rights California’s (DRC) Investigations Unit and Mental Health Practice Group details that people with disabilities are being subjected to abuse and neglect at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in San Bernardino County, CA. Our team conducted a site visit on June 25, 2025, after numerous reports that Adelanto was holding people with disabilities in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. The number of people being held at Adelanto increased dramatically from 300 to 1,000 in just one week, leading to deteriorated conditions that compelled our team to dig deeper. 

As California's federally designated Protection and Advocacy agency (P&A), DRC has unique authority to enter locked facilities, giving DRC a rare and crucial capacity to uncover conditions faced by people with disabilities in those settings. At a time when congressional representatives have been blocked from touring Adelanto, DRC’s access authority is more important than ever. Our team toured several areas in the facility, interviewed 18 people being held at Adelanto, and interviewed Adelanto staff and representatives from the private prison contractor GEO Group, which operates Adelanto.  

The report details disturbing conditions, including a lack of basic needs, such as adequate food, safe water, and clean clothing. Additionally, the team found a lack of access to appropriate medical and mental health care, and processes that properly address disability-related needs. The lack of these basic human necessities led DRC to find that Adelanto continues to create conditions that result in the abuse and neglect of people with disabilities. 

This isn’t the first time that DRC has investigated Adelanto. In 2019, DRC published a report that detailed serious issues with Adelanto’s conditions in which people with disabilities were held and the poor treatment to which they were subjected—ultimately finding that conditions at Adelanto resulted in the abuse and neglect of people with disabilities. Part of the 2025 visit was to determine if conditions had changed since 2019. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE, and GEO Group must safeguard the rights, safety, and dignity of the people detained at Adelanto. DRC urges DHS, ICE, and GEO Group to immediately address the issues detailed in this report. Read the full report, “They Treat Us Like Dogs in Cages:” Inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. 

Media Contacts

Sam Mickens
Director of Communications
(646) 945-0918
Sam.Mickens@disabilityrightsca.org

Disability Rights California (DRC) – Is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of DRC is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For more information, visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org