Summary of case: This case concerns an order from the U.S. District Court of Northern California requiring ICE, and CoreCivic, the private company under ICE contract, to provide, among other things, adequate health care to individuals held in the California City Detention Center. To ensure compliance by the government, the lower court appointed an independent external monitor to assess health care conditions.
Summary of PHR’s submission: PHR’s brief highlights where California City is falling short of its mandated standards, and how these violations can lead to severe medical issues including serious injury and death. PHR’s brief supports the continued appointment of an external medical monitor as a vital oversight mechanism, particularly in light of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defunding and dismantling prior detention oversight offices.
Additional resources: This amicus brief drew on data collected on ICE’s failures of health care in detention facilities and the dismantling of DHS oversight mechanisms as featured in PHR and Human Rights Watch’s June 2026 report Dying in Detention.
For decades, PHR has investigated conditions in U.S. immigration detention facilities. PHR has published multiple reports documenting hazardous conditions and abuses in these facilities, ranging from solitary confinement to force-feeding to policy deviations during the COVID-19 pandemic.