Calls for change at Adelanto ICE facility grow after some detainees allegedly still on hunger strike
ADELANTO, Calif. (KABC) -- Local leaders are calling for change as a group of detained immigrants are allegedly still on a hunger strike at the Adelanto ICE processing center.
According to a coalition of immigrant rights groups, some of the detainees have been refusing to eat since May 20 in protest of what they claim are inhumane conditions -- including poor medical care and food insecurity.
The groups say about 40 immigrants are participating in the strike at the ICE processing center and the nearby Desert View Annex.
Some local congressional leaders visited the detainees on Monday.
"We are doing what we can to raise attention to the terrible conditions there and we want to make sure that they can raise their voices as well, so the more that we can show how terrible condition Adelanto is, the more that we hope we can bring change," said Rep. Judy Chu.
Eva Huerta, whose husband was recently transferred from Adelanto to an annex facility, said conditions are terrible.
"When he goes to the doctor for a cough or chest pain, they simply just give him two Tylenol, mints - Christmas mints -- and they give him two baggies with salt so he can gargle," Huerta said. "That's my grandma's recipe, that's not medical attention."
In a statement, the owner and operator of the Adelanto facility said "in all instances, our support services are monitored by ICE, including by on-site agency personnel."
Eyewitness News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment. In a previous statement -- a spokesperson said there's no hunger strike at Adelanto, adding that even during a hunger strike, ICE provides "three meals a day to each detainee's room."
