Federal officials are again extending an evaluation of a mostly shuttered California detention center that holds thousands of illegal immigrants, with one lawmaker calling for the facility to be reopened amid continuing costs.
“Although the Administration ended the COVID-19 national emergency over a year ago, the Adelanto ICE facility remains prohibited from processing new detainees,” Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) told Fox News Digital. “This extension requires ICE and the Department of Justice to work to bring this facility fully online so they can detain and deport the influx of illegal immigrants that is overwhelming our law enforcement and community support services.”
The facility, in Adelanto, California, can house about 2,000 inmates, but was blocked from doing so by a court order in September 2020 following a lawsuit by immigration activists seeking to reduce the prison population because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ICE extends assessment of California jails that have remained nearly empty since 2020
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) attends a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands hearing on the 9/11 Memorial Museum Act and other bills, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, in Longworthville. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Despite the COVID-19 emergency ending last year, the facility has yet to reopen and only a handful of inmates remain residing there. Fox News Digital reported in November that the facility was scheduled to close in December, but ICE subsequently initiated a 60-day task order to assess the impact of ongoing litigation, maintenance costs and operational requirements.
The move signals that ICE is looking to reopen the facility rather than close it, but as things stand, it remains closed even as other facilities locally and nationally have reopened and the U.S. has largely emerged from COVID.
ICE detention centers house only a handful of inmates despite having thousands of beds, lawmakers say
A guard escorts an immigrant detainee from a segregation cell back to the general prison population at the Adelanto Detention Center in Adelanto, California, on November 15, 2013. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
ICE extended the task order for another 60 days in January and recently announced another extension through September. The task order is being carried out in collaboration with GEO Group, which operates the facility and recently announced that the contract is generating $85 million in annual revenue. The costs are New York Post.
“ICE’s ability to return individuals to their home countries and detain those who require custody and pose a public safety threat is directly dependent on the availability of detention sites and holding space,” ICE spokeswoman Jenny Burke said in announcing the extension of the evaluation period last week. “ICE continues to modernize the immigration system, as resources allow, to achieve cost efficiencies across our operations.”
As the standoff continues, the Border Patrol sector in San Diego has been one of the hardest hit in recent border encounters, and while overall numbers are down, Fox reported this week that large numbers of people are entering California, including from Turkey and China.
ICE begins 60-day evaluation of California jails as Republicans push for full reopening
Senate Democrats moved to vote on the controversial but bipartisan border bill Thursday, but senators opted not to move forward with the measure by a 43-50 vote.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The Biden administration has stopped using private detention facilities to hold illegal immigrants and closed several, but it has also asked Congress to provide more beds. Republicans who want more beds say many remain unfilled.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
