The Government of Mexico has pushed the limits with the United States and has taken a step forward with the 20 criminal complaints filed for the deaths of at least 17 Mexicans in custody or during operations by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE). While these claims seek their legal and diplomatic path, another more established legal front continues, led by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). This Los Angeles-based organization has maintained a lawsuit since last January against ICE and its detention center in Adelanto, California, where four Mexicans have died in custody during the second term of the Trump Administration. The complaint, supported by the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum — as announced in a statement last March — denounces problems inside the jail, such as overcrowding, provision of spoiled food, or a series of abuses with pepper spray to subdue detainees.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced at a press conference on March 30 that Mexico would participate with an amicus curiae in the lawsuit filed by L.T., Sevak Mesrobian, José Mauro Salazar Garza, and J. M., “on their own behalf and on behalf of all those in a similar situation,” as well as on behalf of CHIRLA. The involvement of the Mexican diplomatic delegation, according to the legal definition, is as a third party or group unrelated to a trial that provides a legal opinion or technical report. “Its purpose is to provide useful data, ideas, or viewpoints on issues of social interest to help the judge make a better decision,” explains a definition from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
The lawsuit, accessed by EL PAÍS, states that in Adelanto, during its last review conducted by the California Prosecutor’s Office — between July 8 and 9, 2025 — it was overwhelmed, going from housing seven people in November 2023 to detaining 1,570 on July 8, 2025. “Most of the newly arrived people did so during an unprecedented and surreal period for California, which began in early June 2025, when the federal government conducted raids in Los Angeles, detained hundreds of immigrants at their workplaces, arrested protesters, and, with the help of the National Guard and the Marines, turned the streets into a battlefield,” the document explains.
The May 2026 report concluded that staffing at the Adelanto detention center was insufficient to handle the sudden increase in people as of July 8, 2025. This same inspection found that the ICE detention center barely had one medical director, one full-time doctor, one part-time doctor, three full-time advanced healthcare providers, and one part-time provider for the mentioned population.
The external medical expert who reviewed the medical records identified several cases of people with serious health problems who did not receive timely emergency care. For example, one person reported vomiting blood and was referred for immediate care by the triage nurse but was not seen by any healthcare staff until a week and a half later when they saw a doctor. Another person requested medical attention for chest pain; they were quickly attended by a nurse but did not receive follow-up from a doctor. This person was seen again by medical staff 17 days later for neurological symptoms and was subsequently transferred to a hospital.
The problems related to medical care are particularly concerning, considering the cases of Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, José Guadalupe Ramos Solano, Gabriel García Avilés, and Ismael Ayala Uribe, the four Mexicans who died between September 2025 and March 2026 while detained in Adelanto.
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According to the lawsuit, almost all interviewed people complained about the quality of the food. Inmates at Adelanto explained that before June 2025, food was served in dining rooms, but after the increase in detentions, they ate in their rooms, where the portions often arrived cold, undercooked, or spoiled. They also reported irregular meal schedules, which forced them to choose between eating and going outside. Additionally, they explained that meals could arrive after bedtime or during population counts, and sometimes they had to use the same spoon for weeks.
The external legal opinion reviewed records of use-of-force incidents in Adelanto and found a “significant use” of pepper spray. Eight of the 11 reported use-of-force incidents at the ICE detention center between January 1 and July 7, 2025, occurred mainly in June 2025, after the population increase. Staff used personal defense spray in six of these incidents. One person reported that while waiting in the dining room to enter, without blankets or pillows, a correctional officer sprayed pepper spray on several people in response to complaints, filling a room with approximately 50 people. “Those affected reported eye irritation and rash for weeks after the incident,” it specifies.
The lawsuit states that the use of this chemical compound has a history going back years in Adelanto. An external 2021 report revealed concerning cases of use of force related to mental health. The external expert in this area identified a total of seven use-of-force incidents, out of 37, involving people in mental crises. “In one case, a person tried to hang themselves while under suicide watch, and officers used pepper spray to immobilize them. There were also cases where people who attempted suicide by hanging were sanctioned,” the document explains. In last year’s external report, a case was identified where medical staff communicated the recommendation to avoid using chemical agents during a use-of-force incident, but Adelanto detention center staff continued using chemical spray anyway.
GEO Group operates Adelanto and several migrant detention facilities. This company has a long history of complaints for medical negligence, excessive use of force, overcrowding, sexual abuse, unsanitary conditions, and deficiencies in food. The ICE detention center subject to CHIRLA’s lawsuit has concentrated much of these accusations since its opening in 2011, and several were again exposed in a ruling by a Los Angeles judge, who ordered ICE to guarantee detainees basic services such as access to drinking water, sufficient food, and adequate medical care. These lawsuits remain active, while the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant offensive shows no signs of retreat.
