Gomez Ruiz v. ICE
Case Summary
The Prison Law Office, Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, the ACLU National Prison Project, and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice filed a federal class action lawsuit against ICE on behalf of every person detained in California City Detention Facility. The lawsuit alleges that ICE does not provide people in California City with constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care, in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It also alleges the conditions are excessively punitive, violating people's due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that ICE discriminates against people with disabilities by denying them equal access to programs, services, and activities, in violation of the Rehabilitation Act. Lastly, the lawsuit alleges that ICE improperly interferes with people's rights to hire and consult their attorneys, in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.
Timeline
| November 3, 2025 | DRC issues report about conditions in California City Detention Facility. |
| November 12, 2025 | Plaintiffs file class action complaint against US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) about unconstitutional conditions in California City Detention Facility. |
| November 20, 2025 | Plaintiffs file amended class action complaint. |
| December 1, 2025 | Plaintiffs file class certification motion. |
| December 1, 2025 | Plaintiffs file Motion for Preliminary Injunction regarding the unconstitutional and discriminatory conditions at California City Detention Facility. |
Documents & Resources
Important Litigation Documents
Complaint
Class Certification
Plaintiffs’ Notice of Motion and Motion for Class Certification (December 1, 2025)
Declaration of Steven P. Ragland in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification
Declaration of Margot Mendelson in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification
Declaration of Kyle Virgien in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification
Declaration of Mariel Villareal in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification
Proposed Order Certifying Plaintiffs’ Class and Subclass (December 1, 2025)
Preliminary Injunction
Plaintiffs’ Notice of Motion and Motion for Preliminary Injunction (December 1, 2025)
Declarations of Class Members
Declarations of Experts
Declarations of Immigration Attorneys
Proposed Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (December 1, 2025)
News
The court battle over ICE detention in the California desert (Politico, December 3, 2025)
Why California’s newest detention facility faces federal lawsuit over medical neglect and ‘punitive’ unsanitary conditions (Los Angeles Times, November 13, 2025)
People held in ‘decrepit’ California ICE facility sue over ‘inhumane’ conditions (The Guardian, November 13, 2025)
Immigrants sue over conditions in California’s newest and largest ICE detention center (Cal Matters, November 13, 2025)
Detained immigrants sue over alleged inhumane conditions at California City ICE facility (San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 2025)
Immigrants decry conditions at former prison, ICE’s largest detention center (Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2025)
‘Hell on earth’: immigrants held in new California detention facility beg for help (The Guardian, September 27, 2025)