ADELANTO, California — Attorneys for an immigration detainee have released disturbing footage appearing to show worm-like creatures moving inside drinking water allegedly distributed at a privately operated ICE detention center.
Carlitos Ricardo Parias held the bottle during a video call from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where he has been detained for months. Parias said he transferred the water from facility-provided jugs into the bottle to preserve it as evidence. The brief video does not establish what the organisms are or how widely the water was distributed.
The footage surfaced weeks after a federal judge ordered immigration officials to provide detainees with continuous access to clean, potable water. The injunction followed allegations of inadequate food, sanitation and medical treatment at the Geo Group-operated facility. Independent monitors were also ordered to oversee improvements.
The Department of Homeland Security did not directly explain the bottle’s contents. It said Adelanto receives the same municipal water used by local residents and businesses and maintained that independently tested water met federal standards. Geo Group did not respond to media inquiries.
Parias said detainees need safe drinking water and humane treatment. Attorneys involved in the broader lawsuit said residents have repeatedly complained of murky, foul-tasting water and are investigating whether the facility is complying with the court order.
Sources:
