Class members have been free for five years, while Adelanto was near-empty.
LOS ANGELES – Individuals detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center during a three-year period between 2020-2023 and were ordered released by a U.S. district court are protected for one year against re-detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a settlement approved by a district court judge today.
Individuals detained at Adelanto between March 23, 2020 and May 11, 2023 and were released by the district court qualify as class members in Hernandez Roman v. Wolf and have certain protections against re-detention by ICE. People released on bond by an immigration judge are not protected against re-detention.
“We witnessed a natural experiment in what happens when you free people from immigration detention while their case is being adjudicated,” said Eva Bitrán, director of immigrants’ rights at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. “People are free to be with their families, health outcomes are better, and people show up to court and abide by their release conditions.”
The case began in 2020, after conditions in Adelanto, used by ICE to imprison up to 1,900 people, made it impossible to keep people safe from COVID-19. The ACLU SoCal filed a class-action lawsuit in 2020, to demand a drastic reduction in the number of people detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center during the pandemic. As a result of the suit, the entire facility of Adelanto housed just three individuals at the end of 2024, down from a daily average population of 1,200 people.
According to the settlement, ICE can only re-detain class members in the following circumstances:
- An individual violated a material condition of their release, like failing to show up for court or violating the terms of their probation or parole; or
- An individual was arrested for criminal conduct that threatens public safety following their release from ICE custody and ONLY if the criminal conduct would have made the person an enforcement priority under the Biden administration; or
- An individual had a particularly serious conviction before their release from ICE custody, and ICE received headquarters approval to re-detain them.
Class members can carry the agreement with them, in the event ICE tries to detain them. If ICE tells an individual they want to detain them, individuals can notify class counsel by calling 909-291-4735 and leaving a voicemail with their number. Class members have the right to challenge their re-detention, both individually and as part of the class action.
Read the settlement: https://www.aclusocal.org/app/uploads/drupal/sites/default/files/settlement_agreement_as_filed_-_english.pdf
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