ACLU Comment on Trump Administration Plan to Include Citizenship Question in 2020 Census

ICE and CBP are smashing their way not only through car windows but also through any constraints on the use of face recognition

SAN FRANCISCO – Seven people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sued the Trump administration over inhumane conditions at California’s largest immigration detention center, the privately owned California City Detention Facility located in Kern County. The plaintiffs, who seek to represent a class of all people held at California City, describe in their complaint: Punishing conditions including dirty housing units, inadequate food and water, very cold temperatures, and restrictions on family visits Enforced isolation caused by frequent lockdowns, no access to programming, and excessive solitary confinement Terrifyingly inadequate medical care that deprives people of critical treatment for cancer, life-threatening heart conditions, diabetes and other serious medical needs Neglect of people with disabilities including failing to provide sign language interpreters, wheelchairs, and other necessities people need to live safely Encroachment on freedom of religion, including confiscation of prayer mats, head coverings and even holy texts Denial of access to counsel, with weeks-long delays for legal calls and long waits for in-person visits California City previously operated as a state prison managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. ICE contracted with the for-profit company CoreCivic to re-open the prison as an immigration detention center this year. Since its re-opening, it has come under intense criticism, with people detained at California City describing the facility as a “torture chamber,” and community members expressing outrage over its deplorable conditions. Detained people also have engaged in numerous sit-ins and hunger strikes, including in mid-September, when over 100 people across several housing pods engaged in collective action to demand an end to many of the abuses the lawsuit challenges. Sokhean Keo, a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, said, “I'm bringing this lawsuit to try to help end the suffering and pain that I see in here. ICE is playing with people's lives, and they treat people like they're trash, like they're nothing. Some of the people I'm detained with don't even have soap — they take showers without soap — and they're losing weight because they don't have enough to eat. This is bigger than me, but filing this lawsuit feels like something I can do to call for help for myself and everyone else here.” The lawsuit, Gomez Ruiz, et al. v. ICE, was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California and seeks to redress violations of the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and the Rehabilitation Act. The plaintiffs are represented by the Prison Law Office, Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. Gustavo Guevara, also a named plaintiff, added, “No human being, immigrant or not, should be subjected to these horrendous conditions. I hope society becomes aware of the abuse, neglect, indifference, and the overall unjust treatment we are being subjected to, and does not turn a blind eye. It’s not right that because we’re immigrants they feel they can treat us this way.” ICE began quietly transferring people to the facility in late August. Just four weeks after its opening, Disability Rights California conducted a monitoring visit and found that California City “fails to meet people’s basic needs,” fails to “provide access to critical medical” care, and “employs staff who harass” detained people. With 2,560 beds, the facility is the largest immigration detention center in California. At the time of filing, more than 800 people were detained in the facility. CoreCivic projects it will reach full capacity by early 2026 as ICE continues to admit new arrivals on a daily basis as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented mass arrests of community members and expansion of ICE detention. Additional quotes from co-counsel are as follows: “The treatment of the people held in the California City facility is yet another example of ICE’s utter disregard for the rights and dignity of people in its custody,” said Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “Access to necessities like food, basic medical care, and counsel aren’t mere suggestions – they are constitutionally protected rights that all people in detention are entitled to.” “Eight hundred people are currently locked up in the Mojave Desert in conditions no society should tolerate, and by all accounts, that number is about to triple,” said Tess Borden, supervising staff attorney at the Prison Law Office. “Our clients are bringing this lawsuit to seek constitutionally adequate conditions of confinement for the hundreds of people at California City and the hundreds more to come, and to shine a light onto the abuses occurring within the ever-expanding immigration detention system in our country.” “What is happening at California City is punitive and unconstitutional,” emphasized Steven P. Ragland, partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP. “People held there are being denied basic human rights, dignity and due process, and we are committed to fixing these horrendous conditions and holding the government accountable.” “As our phones are flooded with videos of federal agents arresting our neighbors with extreme violence and cruelty, the brave plaintiffs in this suit remind us through their constant struggle for justice that the abuse does not end there, but continues out of view of the cameras, behind the walls of places like California City Detention Facility,” said Priya Patel, Supervising Attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. The complaint is available here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/11/11.12.25-Calcity-Complaint-filed.pdf

Seven people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sued the Trump administration over inhumane conditions at California’s largest immigration detention center, the privately owned California City Detention Facility located in Kern County. The lawsuit, Gomez Ruiz, et al. v. ICE, was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California and seeks to redress violations of the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and the Rehabilitation Act. The plaintiffs are represented by the Prison Law Office, Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.

WASHINGTON – Immigrants' rights groups warn that the end of TPS for more than 240,000 Venezuelans today marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s attack on immigrant communities and one of the nation’s core humanitarian protections. The termination of this status is a critical moment for Congress to reaffirm its bipartisan commitment to protect people fleeing crisis and persecution by passing legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship for current and former TPS holders. This latest TPS termination for Venezuelans will leave hundreds of thousands vulnerable to detention and possible deportation to Venezuela, where many face imminent harm, persecution, or imprisonment, as well as third countries to which they have no connection. This termination will also have immediate and destabilizing effects on communities across the United States, where families who have long contributed to local economies, schools, and neighborhoods now face the prospect of losing their livelihoods and being torn from the communities they call home. Since President Trump took office, his administration has moved aggressively to dismantle TPS protections, terminating designations for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, and now Venezuela. Even with litigation pending to challenge these decisions, the administration’s actions have already placed more than 675,000 people at immediate risk of family separation, detention, and deportation. This pattern represents one of the most sweeping rollbacks of humanitarian protections in the program’s history. In response to the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, immigrants’ rights groups had the following reactions: “This moment represents far more than the loss of status for one group of people, it is an inflection point in the Trump administration’s broader effort to attack TPS and other humanitarian protections and put hundreds of thousands of our neighbors at risk of deportation and arrest by masked agents,” said Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. “American voters have shown that they deeply object to the administration’s reckless deportation agenda and now is a moment for members of Congress to rally behind them and show real courage. It’s critical that members of Congress mobilize and unite behind legislation that will protect TPS holders and provide a path to citizenship for millions of our neighbors and loves ones who have built lives in communities across the country.” “Today at midnight, 260,000 Venezuelans will lose their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), joining the 340,000 who already lost it before them. In total, more than 600,000 Venezuelans are being stripped of their legal protection — the largest illegalization of immigrants in U.S. history — turning law-abiding, tax-paying families into subjects of deportation,” said Adelys Ferro, Executive Director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. “This cruel decision by the Trump administration and supported by the U.S. Supreme Court is not about policy or law; it is about xenophobia, racism, and discrimination. For many, returning to Venezuela under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro is simply not an option. Many TPS holders are political refugees, victims of persecution, and pillars of their communities: people who contribute every day to this country. Losing their status means losing stability and hope. This is a painful, devastating, and profoundly unjust act that betrays America’s values and humanity.” “Venezuelan migrants have become an integral part of our communities—they are our neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, and friends. They deserve to be recognized for their humanity and their many contributions to our society,” said Dulce Guzman, Executive Director of Alianza Americas. “Yet this administration seems intent on dismantling every humanitarian and legal pathway available for people seeking safety and opportunity. We cannot look away from the terror and separation that families are enduring, nor can we become numb to the cruel ending of programs designed to protect human life and dignity. Ongoing political repression, economic collapse, and widespread human rights violations continue to make Venezuela unsafe for return, warranting the extension of TPS and other protections.” “The Administration's decision to terminate TPS for Venezuela and other qualified countries is inconsistent with the original intent of Congress in establishing Temporary Protected Status (TPS),” said Nils Kinuani, Federal Policy Manager for African Communities Together (ACT). “Congress created this program specifically to protect vulnerable populations from unsafe or unstable conditions in their home countries. By moving forward with these terminations, the Administration undermines the very purpose of the program and forces individuals back into dangerous conditions. “The Trump administration’s termination of TPS for over 240,000 Venezuelans is part of a deliberate agenda to systematically dismantle protections for Black, Brown, and Middle Eastern communities,” said Carolyn Tran, Executive Director of Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP). “Since Trump took office, TPS protections have been stripped from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Burma, South Sudan, and Venezuela – placing more than 675,000 people at risk of deportation. This is not about policy. This is about a calculated effort to attack immigrants of color. At CUSP, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan TPS community. When one of our communities is attacked, we are all under attack. The same forces threatening Venezuelan families are threatening Haitian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Syrian, Burmese, Afghan, and Nepali families across the diaspora. Our power lies in our collective resistance and our refusal to be divided. Congress must act now to protect all TPS holders and provide a pathway to citizenship.” “Today, over 240,000 Venezuelans join the growing community of TPS holders in the US who have been delegalized by this administration, placing them at immediate risk of being separated from their families and deported back to their home country with no regard to their safety or well-being,” said George Escobar, Chief of Programs and Services at CASA. “TPS for so many has been an avenue to build a life here in the US, as they were able to work and provide for themselves and their families. The systemic dismantling of the program comes in tandem with the violent xenophobia and racism unleashed by this administration, as brown and black members of our community are targeted by enforcement agents to be removed from our neighborhoods and cities. We will not remain silent as immigrants across the country are in danger and will continue to fight to ensure that all members of our community can prosper.”