ICE bans hugging inside California’s largest detention center. Families are fighting back

ICE Maintains Non-Contact Visitation Policy at California City Detention Facility

The California City immigration detention center, which opened in August 2025 under the second Trump administration and is operated by CoreCivic under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has prohibited contact visits since its activation. The facility currently holds approximately 1,600 people. Under the policy, individuals in custody meet visitors in rooms separated by glass barriers and communicate by telephone rather than sitting together at tables.

Teresa Reyes traveled roughly 300 miles from her home to the facility in May to visit her son Guillermo, a 32-year-old tattoo artist from San Jose. According to Reyes, the visit occurred through a glass partition, and no physical contact was permitted. Guillermo has been held at the center since its opening.

Allen Tayson, 37, a repair shop worker from Gilroy and a lawful permanent resident from the Philippines, has been detained at the facility since February 2025 following an appearance at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. Tayson and his wife, Samantha Sanchez, a U.S. citizen, have a 14-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter; Sanchez is seven months pregnant. The couple has used video calls costing 21 cents per minute for communication. Tayson previously served a period in a county jail on firearm-related charges that were later dismissed; that facility also used non-contact visitation.

Sanchez stated that the family decided against in-person visits at California City because contact was unavailable. Tayson has described the separation as isolating and has noted that he has not been present for most of his wife’s current pregnancy.

Visitation Practices at Other Facilities

Michelle Brané, former immigration detention ombudsman at the Department of Homeland Security and current executive director of Together and Free, stated that prior to 2016 contact visits were available at many ICE facilities. During the first Trump administration, additional centers shifted to non-contact models. Brané noted that four of the ten ICE detention centers with the largest populations currently bar contact visits: California City, the Stewart facility in Georgia, the South Texas Processing Center in Pearsall, and the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas.

Some facilities, including Otay Mesa in San Diego, have at times required video conferencing between separate rooms, according to Brané. Officials at various sites have cited space limitations as a reason for the restriction.

California Department of Justice Audit

After an audit conducted in spring 2026, the California Department of Justice reported that the non-contact policy at California City appeared inconsistent with a CoreCivic policy document provided to the state. That document indicated physical contact should be permitted except when security risks are present. A photograph released by the department showed a visitation room containing picnic tables previously used when the site operated as a state prison. Detainees are not permitted to enter the table area during visits and instead use a row of telephones along a glass partition.

The Rev. Deborah Lee of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity stated that some visitors have reported difficulty hearing through the telephones and that only one person can speak at a time, limiting group conversations.

Official Responses

CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin stated that facility leadership, in consultation with government partners, determined non-contact visitation to be the most appropriate approach given security considerations. Gustin cited the prevention of contraband introduction as a primary concern and noted that individual facilities retain authority under applicable detention standards to set visitation policies based on facility design, operational requirements, staffing, and security protocols. ICE did not respond to requests for comment. The warden, Christopher Chestnut, did not respond to interview requests.

During a July 2026 visit, Lee reported that Chestnut attributed the policy to higher overdose rates at facilities permitting contact visits but provided no additional data.

Detainee Organizing and Campaign

Beginning in April 2026, individuals held at the facility, including Gustavo Guevara who had been detained there since August 2025, circulated letters within dorms requesting contact visits. Some residents had previously been held at facilities that allowed such visits. The letters were delivered to the warden with assistance from the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. A public campaign titled “Hugs Beyond Bars” was launched, and video statements from detainees were posted on social media.

Sanchez participated in a delegation to the office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in San Francisco to request congressional action. Advocates reported that the senator’s office expressed sympathy but that no change in policy has occurred.

The facility’s visitation room was originally configured for contact visits when the site functioned as a state prison. Current operations restrict use of that configuration for ICE detainees.

CoreCivic has stated that it recognizes the value of family connections and that visitation policies are set according to the factors listed above. No specific incidents of contraband introduction or security breaches at California City have been publicly detailed by ICE or CoreCivic in connection with the policy decision.