Hunger Strikers in Adelanto ICE Jail Moved to Solitary After Meeting Congressmen

Three hunger strikers at an immigration jail in Adelanto, California, have been moved to solitary confinement in an act of apparent retaliation after meeting with members of Congress last week.

Last Monday, California Reps. Judy Chu, Jimmy Gomez, and Pete Aguilar visited Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center as the hunger strike in the immigration jail entered its second week. The Democrats met with three of the hunger strikers, who gave them a petition, signed by some 150 people inside the facility, speaking of inhumane conditions inside the jail and degrading treatment by staff. The Adelanto ICE jail is run by private prison company GEO Group.

The next day, GEO Group staff entered a unit “in riot gear holding pepper spray, tear gas canisters and zip ties,” and removed two of the people who had met with congressional staff the day before. And on Wednesday, they removed the third person, according to other detainees.

Detainees also said that at least two units were put on lockdown for around 24 hours starting on Tuesday.

One hunger striker said that a GEO Group staff member told his unit, “Can you guys do me a favor and stop lying to these Congress people?”

Around 40 people launched the hunger strike in mid-May, and were joined a few days later by an additional 20 people in Desert View Annex, the immigration jail next door — which is also run by GEO Group.

“The hunger strike and the petition signed by 150 detained immigrants are the latest examples of people risking their own well-being just to have their voices heard,” said Esmeralda Santos with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice. “Their testimonies make clear that these facilities cannot be reformed, they must be shut down.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied that there is a hunger strike ongoing at Adelanto.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, four people have died while in Adelanto, and a fifth person died shortly after being transferred from the facility. At least 13 people have died in Adelanto since it opened in 2011, making it “one of the deadliest” immigration jails in the country.

GEO Group is the world’s second largest private prison company, and the largest private prison operator in the U.S. It owns and operates Adelanto ICE Processing Center as well as Newark, New Jersey’s Delaney Hall, under multimillion dollar contracts with ICE.

In Delaney Hall, some 200 people being detained have been hunger striking since May 22. Participants have spoken of both GEO Group and ICE agents retaliating against hunger strikers with threats, transfers of strike participants, teargas, and beatings.

Private prison companies have seen a major increase in revenue in Trump’s second term – one report noted that GEO Group’s revenue in 2025 “jumped 12% from last year, driven largely by new contracts at facilities like Delaney Hall in Newark.”

The U.S.’s other major private prison company, CoreCivic, also saw significant revenue increases.

“Our business is perfectly aligned with the demands of this moment,” said Damon Hininger, CEO of CoreCivic, in 2025.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, ICE reported the death of 43-year-old Mamuka Artmeladze, who was being detained in Louisiana. She is the 50th person who has died in ICE custody in Trump’s second term.