This story is produced from an episode of KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here, and wherever you get your podcasts. Central Valley Daily is supported by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. If you have a story idea, email podcast@kvpr.org.
CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. – A report by a court-appointed doctor recently found that the immigration detention facility in California City lacks a “reliable system” to provide adequate care for detainees.
Eight areas around healthcare access reviewed by the doctor at the California City Detention Facility were categorized under “non-compliance.” The doctor issued a scathing remark which stated the detention center’s conditions create a “serious risk of both immediate and long-term harm.”
The medical review of the facility was conducted due to a federal court order tied to an ongoing lawsuit.
Dr. Muthusamy Anandkumar, the independent medical reviewer, conducted an on-site review over three days in May.
The doctor interviewed 40 patients at the facility, along with the detention center’s personnel.
The doctor looked at the quality of health care staffing, approval of and access to medical specialists, and emergency services responsiveness, among other things.
None of the areas met the required standards, according to the doctor.
Anandkumar said the ICE facility lacks adequate staffing, stable on-site management, sufficient clinical and operational oversight, or an active quality assurance process.
Facility can hold over 2,000 detainees
The California City Detention Facility can hold up to 2,560 detainees. It’s operated by the Tennessee-based private prison operator known as CoreCivic but now owned by the federal government after a recent sale.
The facility opened in 1999 as a state prison and is located in a desolate area of the Mojave Desert in Kern County.
But the facility began to operate as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center last year. This was part of the Trump administration's efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement, including with securing facilities where the government could hold detainees.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved by Congress last year, $45 billion went to fund ICE to increase capacity in detention facilities.
But despite the federal government’s recent purchase of the facility, there were already problems arising in the California City Detention Facility.
Seven detainees filed a lawsuit last November alleging that they were not receiving adequate medical care.
The federal court for the Northern District of California ordered a study to examine medical conditions within the facility.
CoreCivic’s spokesman, Ryan Gustin, said the company takes the health and safety of the people housed at its facilities seriously, including by providing a broad range of health services, including screenings, diagnosis, treatment, dental and emergency.
Gustin did not offer a comment on the ongoing litigation but said CoreCivic was “actively reviewing" the report provided by the independent doctor.
“When specialty or advanced care is required beyond the services available onsite, facility healthcare staff coordinate with community physicians, hospitals, and specialty providers to facilitate access to medically necessary treatment. While we work diligently to arrange and support those appointments, the scheduling, availability, and capacity of outside providers are not controlled by the facility,” he said.
Other doctors make similar findings
KVPR obtained a copy of the medical report but was unable to reach out to the doctor for comment.
KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast host Soreath Hok spoke instead with Dr. Joseph Nwadiuko, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who had reviewed the report and offered his analysis.
Nwadiuko said he is not surprised by the report's findings.
“The findings are horrifying frankly, and worrisome and hopefully [will] become addressed very quickly," Nwadiuko said.
Dr. Muthusamy Anandkumar reports inadequate behavior and performance regarding the failure to provide medical services when required, alongside staffing shortages.
The doctor described a case in which a patient at the facility did not receive timely care after showering, despite having a disability.
"This is a facility that was pretty lacking, in the number of people who were not only available, but also adequately trained to take care of patients,” Nwadiuko said.
He added that the report touches issues health experts are seeing across immigration detention facilities around the country.
In 2024, Nwadiuko and other specialized doctors published a report looking at healthcare inside ICE facilities and found that there were similar "significant challenges with regards to their ability to staff it adequately with healthcare providers.”
