Congresswoman Luz Rivas Demands Answers from ICE on Chaotic Decision-Making Processes after Adelanto Detention Facility Visit
LOS ANGELES – Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29) sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons demanding answers about ICE’s decision-making process behind sending immigrants to different parts of the country, its actions to arrest immigrants at their court hearings, and the associated costs to the taxpayer.
During her visit to the Adelanto Detention Facility, Congresswoman Rivas met with an asylum seeker with no criminal record who was immediately detained by ICE after his scheduled court hearing in Santa Ana, only for the judge to order him and his wife to leave the courtroom. Congresswoman Rivas noted a similar pattern of immigrants following the law only to have their cases immediately dismissed and be detained and transferred by ICE to locations thousands of miles away from their homes, including several of her own constituents who were transferred to Texas.
“I am deeply concerned that many of these detainees are being sent to detention facilities across the country without any connections to legal services, family or friends, or logical reasons for that matter,” wrote Congresswoman Rivas. “These are hardworking people who are trying to live out their own American Dream while abiding our laws and immigration court hearing proceedings – only to be detained and sent to facilities across the country.”
Congresswoman Rivas is asking for a response from ICE within 72 hours regarding their concerning decision-making process.
Congresswoman Rivas continued: “It is evident that ICE either lacks competence or disregards proficiency in immigration law because the ongoing raids and detentions are fueling terror, chaos, and a misuse of taxpayer funds.”
A full copy of the letter can be found here and below.
June 18, 2025
The Honorable Todd Lyons
Acting Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th St SW
Washington, DC 20536
Dear Acting Director Lyons:
My recent Congressional oversight visit on June 17 to the Adelanto Detention Facility with my colleagues confirmed my suspicions that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) haphazard, chaotic, and directionless arrests are subjecting more innocent individuals to unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
During our visit, I met with a detainee whose story is similar to many other detained immigrants. He and his wife lived in Chino, California, and as an asylum seeker, with no criminal record, was following the law and applicable rules. On the day he was detained, he was appearing at immigration court in Santa Ana, California, for his third hearing, only for the judge to dismiss and close his case immediately. When he and his wife were ordered to leave the courtroom, ICE agents were stationed outside to detain them and send them to the Adelanto Detention Facility. Additionally, I heard from other detained immigrants who said they had been brought in from locations thousands of miles from where they were detained, such as Miami, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, rather than be sent to a detention facility closer to their family and legal counsel. Separately, my constituents have had their immigration cases immediately dismissed and sent to ICE detention centers far from home, including Texas.
I am deeply concerned that many of these detainees are being sent to detention facilities across the country without any connections to legal services, family or friends, or logical reasons for that matter. These are hardworking people who are trying to live out their own American Dream while abiding our laws and immigration court hearing proceedings – only to be detained and sent to facilities across the country.
It is evident that ICE either lacks competence or disregards proficiency in immigration law because the ongoing raids and detentions are fueling terror, chaos, and a misuse of taxpayer funds.
As part of my oversight responsibilities, I am demanding a response within 72 hours to the following questions:
- While at Adelanto, I asked ICE personnel why a detainee who lived in Florida was sent to Adelanto and they responded, “That’s a question for higher ups.” Provide a detailed explanation on the decision-making process related to detainees being sent across the country or state lines.
- What is the criteria for transferring a detainee to a facility outside of the location where they were detained, and what is the criteria for transferring individuals from one detention facility to another?
- On May 30, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) leadership sent a memo to Assistant Chief Immigration Judges (ACIJs) on immigration adjudications. This memo outlines that “oral decisions must be completed within the same hearing slot on the day testimony and arguments are concluded…. Respondents in the expedited removal proceedings are subject to mandatory detention.”1 Is the goal of this guidance to scare immigrants to miss their asylum court hearings and use that as a justification to try and deport them instead of actually targeting priority cases?
- What is the actual cost per day and annually to taxpayers for wasting money by flying detained immigrants across state lines and housing them in facilities?
During our inspection, we witnessed and heard various disturbing accounts from the detainees at the Adelanto Detention Facility, such as:
- Detained immigrants cleaning their restrooms because staff refuse to do so;
- Detained immigrants not being provided with clean clothing and having to wash their personal items, including their underwear and socks, in the shower; and
- ICE and facility staff are not providing a required telephone pin number for detainees to call their family and legal counsel.
It is a disgrace for this country, built by generations of immigrants, to treat immigrants and our most vulnerable populations this way. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars and only leads to more confusion for detainees accessing legal representation and communicating with family, while filling the coffers of for-profit private prison corporations.
As the Congressmember for California’s 29th Congressional district, I will continue to demand access to ICE facilities to conduct Congressional oversight to ensure all detainees are treated humanely and with dignity. I will continue to demand answers from ICE and other relevant Federal agencies. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Luz Rivas
Member of Congress
CC: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
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