The Biden administration just settled a lawsuit seeking to fully reopen the nation's largest civilian immigration detention center, liberal critics say, “rolling out the red carpet” for President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan.
Only three people are currently being held at the 1,940-bed Adelanto ICE Processing Center, located about 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles, according to ICE data.
The massive facility has been under a judge's order since 2020 preventing it from accepting more detainees, thanks to a lawsuit over the coronavirus outbreak there.
But a recent settlement with the Democratic White House means the facility will be fully open, a move immigrant rights lawyers have denounced as playing into Trump's hands. The agreement only needs to be signed by a judge.
“Well, say what you will, but the Biden administration and the Department of Justice are rolling out the red carpet for Trump's deportation machine,” said Nicolette Glaser, a California-based immigration attorney. is written in. ×post — added to the Post that the settlement was “bad news.”
said Hardeep Sall, director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In X, “That's a way to ruin Christmas Eve! Biden's legacy to the people!”
This move could very well ultimately open the door to President Trump's mass deportations.
President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said in a recent interview with the Post that he is finalizing plans to “gain far more capacity” for illegal immigrants before they are ultimately deported from the United States. and cited Adelanto's coronavirus order in the chat.
In a 2023 letter to ICE, Rep. Jay Obanolte (R-Calif.), D-Adelanto, said that only a small number of immigrants are being accepted and that Biden is concerned about the spread of the coronavirus nationwide. Despite the lift, he said the facility is “fully funded” by “taxpayer funds.” emergency.
“The administration declared the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency on May 11 of this year. The federal government's reliance on 'catch and release' has created an economic burden on local communities. “As a result, states, counties, and cities across the country have been forced to declare states of emergency,” the lawmaker said, referring to the U.S. immigration crisis. A policy that releases most immigrants caught illegally entering the country.
“It is time for ICE and the Department of Justice to correct this situation and return the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to normal use,” he added.
The Biden administration plans to shut down Adelanto in December before ICE steps in and begins a 60-day evaluation of the facility, and then plans to close Adelanto after “potential concerns from ongoing litigation that would prevent full use of the facility.'' An additional 120 days of testing was scheduled to follow for “additional time for redress.” Fox News reported.
ICE did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment.
