immigration civic community scene — Photo by Germar Derron via Pexels
Advocates Deliver 1,000 Signatures to Padilla’s Office Demanding ICE Detention Reforms After In-Custody Deaths
Interfaith leaders and immigrant families marched to California Sen. Alex Padilla’s office last month, delivering more than 1,000 signatures calling for contact visits at the California City ICE Detention Center. The action followed a memorial outside San Francisco’s federal immigration building, where organizers displayed photos of 56 people who have died in ICE custody during President Trump’s second term.
“Enough is enough,” said Rev. Deborah Lee of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. “We have seen day after day and week after week of another precious life that has been lost at the hands of ICE and our hearts are broken.”
ABC News’ examination of Department of Homeland Security data shows the rate of in-custody deaths is higher during this administration than in most others. DHS disputes this, stating the death rate as of May 29 is 0.008% of the detained population and calling claims of a spike “NO spike in deaths.”
Samantha Sanchez of Gilroy said her husband was detained at the California City facility six months ago during a green card appointment. “10 minutes within the interview. They took him,” she said. “They told us to bring our kids for the interview, and they took him from interview.”
The facility currently bars contact visits, using a glass partition and phone system instead. DHS says visitation policy is up to each facility’s discretion. Sanchez said allowing physical contact “would actually change him and maybe help him in giving him some type of joy.”
“My husband was the main provider for me, and I’ve had to step it up for the last 6 months just trying to make a way and get everything done for me and my kids,” she said.
DHS defended its detention practices in a statement, saying detainees receive “proper meals, water, medical treatment” and access to lawyers and family communication. “For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received in their entire lives,” the statement said.
The Breakdown
- ABC News data shows 56 people have died in ICE custody since the start of Trump’s second term in 2025, with a higher rate than most previous administrations
- Advocates delivered 1,000+ signatures to Sen. Padilla’s office urging him to push ICE for contact visits at California City ICE Detention Center
- The facility currently requires no-contact visits through glass partitions with phone communication
- DHS says visitation policy is left to each facility’s discretion and defends its 0.008% death rate as consistent with the last decade
What This Means for You
Senator Padilla now has 1,000 signatures asking him to use his office to change one specific policy at the California City detention facility. Whether he acts on that petition is part of the record voters will see.
The dispute here isn’t just about numbers — it’s about the current approach to how people are treated in federal custody. Advocates are calling for changes to visitation policy at this facility.
What You Can Do
Contact Sen. Padilla’s office to weigh in on the California City detention facility visitation policy. The advocacy groups behind this petition are continuing to organize — the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity led the memorial and march.
What to Watch
Two competing claims sit on the table, and only one can be true. ABC News says its analysis of DHS’s own data shows a higher in-custody death rate under this administration than most others. DHS says there’s been “NO spike” and the rate is consistent with the last decade. That’s not a difference of interpretation — it’s a factual question with a factual answer, and someone is either reading the numbers wrong or misrepresenting them.
The question worth asking: if the administration’s own data contradicts its public statement, why? And if 56 deaths in custody — whatever the rate calculation — doesn’t warrant a policy review, what number would?
There’s also the matter of what “discretion” means when it comes to visitation policy. DHS says it’s up to each facility. Advocates are asking whether families like Sanchez’s have any recourse when a facility says no.
