Dozens of ICE detainees in hunger strike for better living conditions reach the week mark

42 detainees at ICE's Golden State Annex detention center in McFarland, California, have hit the one-week mark in their ongoing hunger strike for better living conditions. The strikers say the situation is below standards and seek adequate medical assistance, including mental health, nutritious and non-expired food; clean facilities; free calls to families and lawyers, and the end of retaliation against those who protest against the situation.

Detainees began protesting 10 days before the strike with a work stoppage by 59 people at both the Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde centers in Bakersfield, California. Both facilities are operated by GEO Group, a for-profit organization.

The hunger strikers aim to draw the attention of ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner and San Francisco Office of Detention and Deportation Director Moises Becerra, El Pais reported. The California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ), however, has noted retaliatory measures against strikers, including restricted outdoor time and shortages of essentials like toilet paper and air conditioning amid extreme heat waves in California.

The labor strikes are taking place as California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA, is investigating the unsanitary conditions at the Golden State Annex facility due to a complaint filed by the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice last month on behalf of seven detainees.

The complaint accuses GEO of maintaining unsafe facilities, with large spots of black mold in the showers and black fibrous dust particles pushed into the dormitory's air through HVAC vents. The mold can cause asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, respiratory infections such as bronchitis.

As Cal Matters reports, California has been fighting conditions in private detention centers such as those run by GEO for years. Back in 2019, state lawmakers tried to ban private immigration detention centers from operating in California, with Governor Gavin Newsom claiming they "contribute to over-incarceration" and "do not reflect our values" when signing the bill.

The company and federal government sued over California's ban, which was ultimately overturned last year by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled the state was unconstitutionally overstepping on federal immigration enforcement.