Congressman Ro Khanna / File Photo

Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna demanded records and explanations after what he described as “grave deficiencies” at the California City Detention Facility.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd M. Lyons dated Feb. 1, the California lawmaker said the conditions he observed at the immigration detention center during an oversight visit raised “serious concerns about conditions of confinement, access to medical care, and the absence of meaningful federal oversight.”

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Khanna wrote that the facility currently holds 1,428 individuals, including 215 women, all detained for civil immigration matters. 

He and his staff met 47 detainees during the visit. “Most spoke cautiously, apparently inhibited by the lack of privacy and fear of retaliation,” he wrote. 

The letter described physical conditions inside the facility as “unacceptable.” Khanna wrote that temperatures were so cold that his staff “struggled to take notes,” and that they staff could not identify any policy for providing adequate cold-weather clothing. 

“We did not see a single detained person with a jacket, sweater, or other appropriate clothing,” he wrote. Detainees also reported infrequent access to showers and clean clothing, and staff were unable to produce a laundry schedule.

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Khanna further wrote that facility staff could not provide documentation of food safety inspections when requested. He cited one detainee who described the conditions as “torture” and said he agreed to deportation to escape them.

The lawmaker also raised concerns about medical care and grievance procedures. He wrote that “locked ‘sick call’ and grievance boxes” were observed but access was denied to verify whether requests were being addressed. 

“Multiple detainees — including one we personally observed with a serious, visible injury — reported requesting medical care and never receiving it,” he wrote.

According to the letter, facility staff and a senior ICE official admitted that urgent medical requests and grievances may go unattended for weeks and are not reviewed on weekends or holidays. 

Khanna wrote that detainees reported being placed in solitary confinement after raising medical complaints, which he described as “an extraordinarily troubling and punitive practice.”

He added that detainees, including those classified as low-security, were required to meet lawyers and family members behind glass. Several reported that mail was delayed by weeks, affecting their ability to communicate with legal counsel and prepare for court hearings.

“Detainees appeared to be treated uniformly as high-security prisoners regardless of security classification or gender and despite the fact that the vast majority have never had criminal convictions,” he stated.

Khanna stated that the facility has been operating since August 2025 without any inspection by the Office of Detention Oversight, audit under National Detention Standards or Performance Based National Detention Standards, or verified compliance review under the Prison Rape Elimination Act and disability laws. “Oversight is not delayed; it is nonexistent,” he wrote.

He has requested that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE provide, by Feb. 12, records including the governing contract with CoreCivic, medical care contracts and logs, grievance records, use-of-force logs, records of solitary confinement, recreation logs, food safety inspections, disability accommodation requests, and records of educational or structured programming.

“Congress has a constitutional duty to ensure detention—particularly civil detention—is lawful, humane, and accountable,” Khanna wrote. “The Department of Homeland Security must not permit privately operated detention facilities to function without transparency, oversight, or basic regard for human dignity.”

The letter adds to mounting scrutiny of the Mojave Desert facility, operated by CoreCivic under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Attorneys representing detainees have filed a class-action case alleging medical neglect, unsanitary conditions, and punitive confinement practices at the site.

Discover more at New India Abroad.