A court-appointed medical monitor has confirmed systemic healthcare deficiencies and widespread violations of a federal court order at the state’s largest immigration detention center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Following a three-day site inspection at California City Detention Facility, which included interviews with dozens of staff members and detained individuals and a review of 141 medical records, the report found a recurring pattern of “delayed identification of patient needs, delayed or missed assessments, delayed or inadequate medical treatment, missed or delayed medication administration, and gaps in follow-up care.”
The report found that the facility, operated by CoreCivic, lacks staffing, clinical oversight, and quality assurance processes needed to provide constitutionally adequate healthcare to detainees. It concluded that these are systemic failures rather than isolated lapses in care, and will inform the court’s ongoing oversight of efforts to bring the facility into compliance with constitutional standards.
U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney appointed the monitor to enforce a February court order requiring ICE to provide constitutionally adequate healthcare at the facility, a ruling stemming from a class action brought by Keker, Van Nest & Peters, the Prison Law Office, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Keker team on the case includes Steven Ragland, Cody Harris, Candice Nguyen, and Carlos Martinez.
You can read the Los Angeles Times article here and a CalMatters article here.
