{"id":3373,"date":"2026-06-30T11:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3373"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:07:24","slug":"opinion-ice-detention-is-as-bad-as-it-sounds-ive-been-living-it-for-2-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3373","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: ICE detention is as bad as it sounds. I\u2019ve been living it for 2 years."},"content":{"rendered":"
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When I wake in the morning, there are no signs of the new day. There are no windows in my cell, and a light has been on all night. Like one long nightmare, it can be difficult to keep track of when one day ends and the next begins. And so life goes inside the California City Detention Facility. It feels like the land of the living dead.<\/p>\n

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Outside, miles of desert stretch between me and the nearest town. This privately run immigration detention center \u2014 the largest in California \u2014 opened\u00a0illegally\u00a0last August as the Trump administration rapidly expanded detention.<\/p>\n

Having been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for nearly two years, I\u2019ve come to learn that this sort of lawlessness lies at the core of the U.S. detention system. The rule of law does not exist inside detention for me or the countless others I\u2019ve met during my time in ICE custody.<\/p>\n

When I entered the country in 2024 from Belize, I was fleeing persecution. Where I expected to find refuge and due process in the U.S., I\u2019ve instead found myself imprisoned. When I claimed asylum at the border, I was subject to mandatory detention, pursuant to\u00a0Section 1225\u00a0of U.S. Code.<\/p>\n

Over the last two years, I\u2019ve been transferred between three detention centers: first at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, then at Golden State Annex in McFarland and finally here in California City. All of these detention facilities have in common a fundamental disregard for our health and well-being.<\/p>\n

Deadly conditions<\/h4>\n

At California City, I have both witnessed and personally experienced negligent treatment and the routine violation of our rights. I assume much of the misconduct here stems from private prison corporations\u2019 motivation to make as much money as possible. When a corporation \u2014 in this case, CoreCivic \u2014 sees us as dollar signs instead of people, it\u2019s easy to understand why they cut corners at the expense of our safety.<\/p>\n

Here at California City, when I suffered from tonsillitis, I was never taken to the medical unit despite my repeated requests for treatment. Most others I have met along the way have also faced medical neglect, and many have been left worse off than myself.<\/p>\n

Last November, when I stood up for others\u2019 medical care \u2014 including those in need of urgent treatment and medications for conditions like heart disease and diabetes \u2014 I and several others were sent to solitary confinement in retaliation.<\/p>\n

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As\u00a0lawsuits\u00a0and\u00a0investigations\u00a0have\u00a0demonstrated, severe medical neglect in ICE custody is a systemic problem. This medical neglect is particularly worrisome amid a record-high numbers of deaths occurring across ICE\u2019s detention system. The death rate has more than doubled under the current administration, according to\u00a0a recent Reuters analysis.<\/p>\n

In response to a lawsuit brought by some of us inside, a federal court ordered ICE to provide basic health care like access to emergency services, specialists and prescription medications. As far as I can tell as a detained person, ICE and prison officials have so far failed to comply with this order.<\/p>\n

Exploited labor<\/h4>\n

Medical neglect is not our only problem here. CoreCivic, like other for-profit prison operators,\u00a0pays detained people $1 a day\u00a0to do cleaning jobs around the facility and other work. This is the only way many people can buy essential food and hygiene products from the commissary \u2014 yet another way CoreCivic profits.<\/p>\n

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There is little programming here, and our freedom of movement is severely restricted. We often spend more time each day inside our 8-by-8 cell than outside of it. The temperature goes from one extreme to the next, either too hot or too cold. Sometimes we are allowed up to one hour outside in the yard, but being in the middle of the desert under the hot sun, even this outdoor time provides little relief.<\/p>\n

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Recently, the detention center has been stricken by a drug problem. I fear it is a matter of when, not if, someone is the victim of a fatal overdose. And those in need of rehab are sent to solitary confinement \u2014 a dangerous response that seems to be used for any and every problem that staff refuse to address. On top of that, officers often work 18-hour shifts. CoreCivic and ICE have created a precarious environment in which we are all pushed to our limits.<\/p>\n

Simply put, this place is hell on Earth. I have come to believe that everything here is designed to break you, to make you sign your own deportation order and give up on your case.<\/p>\n

When Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff\u00a0visited the facility in January,\u00a0we were forced to clean the facility before their arrival. I told them of the widespread mistreatment occurring. In the months since, nothing has changed; if anything, conditions have only gotten worse. This month, ICE\u00a0officially relaxed standards\u00a0and barred prison operators from paying more than $1 a day, a policy shift widely seen as a favor to the companies as they face lawsuits.<\/p>\n

The problems here reflect the broader injustices of the U.S. immigration system, if we can still call it that. This system today is first and foremost a deportation machine. Pathways to safety and citizenship for people like me have all but been eliminated.<\/p>\n

I now understand detention is not the only problem.<\/p>\n

Yes, we should end the practice of immigration detention and shut down the California City Detention Facility for good. We should also remove the punitive policies that criminalize the very act of migration. How much further along would this country be if the tens of billions of dollars spent on detention and border security were instead used to humanely welcome newcomers and to meet real needs in the United States such as good jobs, housing and education?<\/p>\n

When I fled Belize, I believed it important to stop corruption in my country. Now facing a perverse system again, I am continuing this fight from behind bars in a new country. In my time here, I have filed numerous habeas petitions \u2014 a way to challenge one\u2019s detention through the courts \u2014 resulting in the freedom of several people who were once caged here.<\/p>\n

I will continue to advocate for myself and others, alongside\u00a0allies beyond these walls. It doesn\u2019t matter who you are or where you come from \u2014 we all have the right to live and be treated with fairness and basic human dignity.<\/p>\n

Brady Tillett is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the California City Detention Facility in Kern County. \u00a92026 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Asking Eric: My daughter\u2019s open relationship has completely blown up<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A detainee reveals how private prison corporations profit from the cruel mistreatment of migrants<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nOpinion: ICE detention is as bad as it sounds. I\u2019ve been living it for 2 years. - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3373\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opinion: ICE detention is as bad as it sounds. 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