California lawmakers say ICE downtown LA processing center was ‘all but empty’

(DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES) California lawmakers say they found an ICE processing center “all but empty” during a long‑delayed inspection Monday, after weeks of reports that the same site was packed with detainees from recent arrest sweeps. Reps. Brad Sherman, Judy Chu, and Jimmy Gomez entered the B‑18 basement facility in the federal building downtown on August 11, 2025, and said they saw only two people in a holding room. The ICE processing center is listed as having space for up to 335 people. The members accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “sanitizing” B‑18 to blunt oversight after repeated attempts to visit were canceled or blocked in recent months.

In response, the Department of Homeland Security pushed back. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE “has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons,” rejecting claims of poor conditions. During the tour, ICE representatives also told Rep. Chu that masked, unmarked officers seen in some arrests were not ICE agents, and that ICE operations proceed with probable cause and warrants.

The stakes are high because a federal lawsuit from the ACLU of Southern California describes B‑18 as “dungeon‑like” and alleges people were held in overcrowded rooms, given little food and water, denied hygiene and medical care, and pushed to accept “voluntary departure” while in distress. Those claims, tied to L.A.-area sweeps since early June, include accounts of multi‑day holds and blocked access to lawyers.

The August 11 visit came amid a tug‑of‑war over who can enter facilities and when. ICE posted Member‑of‑Congress visit rules in February 2025 citing Section 532 of the FY2020 DHS Appropriations Act, which guarantees access for oversight and bars any temporary changes to hide what would otherwise be observed during a visit. A June 2025 update from DHS/ICE, however, asked for 72 hours’ notice and claimed the agency can deny or end tours—especially at field offices, which DHS says are not detention centers. Lawmakers and legal groups say field offices often hold people, sometimes for days, so they are covered by federal access law. A group of House Democrats, including Gomez, sued the federal government over blocked inspections, and other California members requested a Government Accountability Office review after earlier denials in Los Angeles.

Oversight fight over access rules

ICE’s posted guidance for congressional visits, still in effect, says Members and staff must:

• Present government ID, which is verified before entry.
• Pass magnetometer screening and possible non‑intrusive inspections.
• Follow recording limits to protect privacy and security.
• Rely on statutory access under Sec. 532, which bars any temporary modifications meant to alter what visitors would otherwise observe.

The dispute now centers on DHS’s June notice policy and the claim that field offices sit outside the statute. That question matters in downtown L.A., where B‑18 occupies a basement space tied to a federal building that also houses ICE offices. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, whether a short‑term holding site inside an ICE field office counts as a place covered by the federal access law is at the heart of the current court fights.

Reports from early June through July describe “scores” of migrants—and some U.S. citizens—swept up at workplaces and public spots and taken to B‑18. Advocates say many were held overnight or longer before transfer or release. Those accounts stand in sharp contrast to what lawmakers saw this week. Sherman said the near‑empty rooms on August 11 were hard to square with the recent flood of complaints.

Key takeaway: The legal and factual dispute centers on whether field offices and short‑term holding sites must be open to the same unannounced oversight guaranteed by Section 532.

Expanding detention capacity in California

Detention capacity in California is expanding rapidly:

• From April through June 2025, ICE and CoreCivic agreed to convert the 2,560‑bed California City facility into the state’s largest ICE detention center.
  • The deal included up to $31.2 million in initial six‑month funding while a longer‑term contract is negotiated.
  • This expansion would raise California’s total ICE bed space by about 36%, to around 9,700 beds.
• Nationally, internal data in late June showed roughly 59,000 people in ICE custody—more than 40% above the approximately 41,500 beds funded by Congress at that time.

On July 1, the U.S. Senate passed a reconciliation bill that would pour about $170 billion into immigration enforcement. Key allocations include:

Critics, including the American Immigration Council, say the approach relies heavily on detention without adequately addressing the immigration court backlog or access to counsel.

California’s Attorney General conducted a statewide review in 2025 and found ongoing failures in ICE facilities, including:

• Poor medical recordkeeping
• Weak suicide prevention measures
• Disproportionate use of force against people with mental health needs
• Missed medications before hearings
• No mental‑health review before solitary confinement

Investigators interviewed 154 people across six sites, including Mesa Verde. Those findings echo concerns from families who say loved ones held in the United States face long waits for care or legal help.

B‑18 will likely remain in the spotlight. Lawmakers in California argue that short‑term processing spaces—where people may be held for hours or days—should be inspectable at short notice to check for food, water, medical access, and the ability to contact a lawyer. DHS maintains it is following the law and that ICE standards are strong. The clash over access rules could shape whether future tours are unannounced and what Members see when they arrive.

For those trying to locate someone held by ICE, the agency’s detention facilities page provides location and visitation updates, though hours can change for operations. See: https://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities.

What families and lawyers can do now

• Seek legal help quickly.
  1. If a relative is detained, ask them to sign Form G‑28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative so counsel can speak with ICE and EOIR. Link: https://www.uscis.gov/g-28.
• Keep documents ready.
  • A copy of any Notice to Appear, booking number, or A‑Number helps a lawyer find the case faster.
• Be cautious with “voluntary departure” paperwork.
  • People should not sign anything they don’t fully grasp without talking to counsel, especially if they fear harm or have relief options.
• Update addresses with the immigration court.
  • People in removal proceedings must file the EOIR change‑of‑address form EOIR‑33 to receive hearing notices. Link: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/eoir33/download.
• Document care issues.
  • Families should write down dates, names, and symptoms if medical help is delayed or missed, and share that with counsel.

Next steps and implications

• House Democrats’ lawsuit seeks a ruling that field offices like B‑18 cannot be walled off from oversight.
• A separate request for a GAO investigation targets earlier access denials in Los Angeles.
• Whether the Senate’s enforcement funding becomes law—and how the California City expansion is used—will affect thousands of people.
  • More beds and larger arrest sweeps would likely increase use of quick‑turn processing hubs such as B‑18.
  • That could raise the risk of the problems now under scrutiny: overcrowding, limited access to counsel, and inadequate medical care.

Families and lawyers are watching to see if courts or auditors set clear rules for entry, and whether ICE’s on‑paper standards match what visitors find when they walk through the door.