California Man’s Case Exposes Gaps in ICE Detention Care
Every Saturday, Ulises Parias drives two hours to visit his father at the Adelanto Detention Center in California. His father, Carlitos Ricardo “Richard” Parias, has been held there since November 2025 — shot by federal agents during an ICE enforcement arrest and, according to his attorneys, denied adequate medical care ever since. The case, detailed by NPR, has become a stark illustration of systemic failures in medical treatment, legal recourse, and oversight within the U.S. immigration detention system.
The Shooting and Its Aftermath
In October 2025, Parias, a Mexican national who had lived in Los Angeles for over two decades, was leaving his home when federal agents blocked his vehicle. Body camera footage shows officers smashing his car window and shouting commands before one opened fire, striking Parias near his left elbow. He was hospitalized for a week before being placed in federal criminal custody, then transferred to ICE custody under the Laken Riley Act.
Medical records reviewed by NPR from November to May document consistent pain, decreased mobility, and radiating pain from Parias’s neck down to his left hand. For months, he was primarily prescribed Motrin, gabapentin, and muscle rub cream. A physical therapy referral was made in March, but by May no therapy had been completed, and Parias had been in a sling for six months.
“There are not enough people, and there’s not enough concern. And that’s leading to permanent disability and death,” Margaret Hellerstein, Parias’s immigration attorney, told NPR.
Legal Catch-22 Under the Laken Riley Act
The Laken Riley Act, signed into law as the first bill of President Trump’s second term, mandates detention of undocumented individuals charged with certain offenses, including assault on a law enforcement officer. The federal government charged Parias with assault on a federal officer — charges that U.S. District Judge Fernando Olgin dismissed in December 2025, citing constitutionally inadequate access to legal representation. The government is appealing.
Despite the dismissal of criminal charges, Parias remains in ICE custody. A federal judge ordered a bond hearing, but ICE argued the immigration judge lacked jurisdiction under the Laken Riley Act. The judge agreed and denied bond. Hellerstein explained that for detainees like Parias, the only legal avenue is filing a habeas corpus petition — a process that can take months.
“No one is eligible for bond. No one is eligible for a [bond] hearing,” Hellerstein said. “You have to file a habeas. Which means, unfortunately, that for people like Richard who are languishing in detention and have serious medical concerns, you could be waiting for your decision for months and months and months.”
A System Under Strain
The conditions at Adelanto, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S., have drawn increasing scrutiny. California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently refiled an amicus brief opposing conditions at the for-profit facility, citing findings of inadequate medical care, insufficient staffing, unsafe food and water, and concerning use of pepper spray against detainees. Congressman Raul Ruiz described conditions there as “prison-like” after a February 2026 visit.
Broader trends paint an alarming picture. Deaths in ICE custody hit a record high under the Trump administration, with the death rate more than doubling. Meanwhile, the internal DHS Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), created by Congress in 2019 to investigate detainee deaths and medical care complaints, has been shut down amid a funding lapse. OIDO had been reduced from over 100 employees to just five before its closure.
Funding Without Oversight
In June 2026, congressional Republicans approved nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement, funding ICE and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term and expanding detention capacity to 100,000 beds. The bill passed without any Democratic support and with virtually no new oversight requirements.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), who visited Parias at Adelanto, said her office has been in touch with DHS about his case but has limited tools to compel change. “We don’t have that many oversight tools. We have stretched ourselves to the limit in the hearings as a party in the minority,” she told NPR. “If we are victorious in November, then we will have a lot more tools at our disposal.”
The Human Toll
For Ulises Parias, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student, the burden extends beyond visiting his father. He has become the family’s primary translator and caregiver, navigating a complex legal system while balancing his studies. He has cleaned the blood and broken glass from his father’s car, the same car in which Richard Parias was shot.
“This is the first World Cup where I’m experiencing it alone. And it feels wrong,” Ulises said. “Honestly, it feels wrong knowing that I don’t have my dad to watch it with me. So I’m hoping the next step is to get a call from the lawyer saying soon he will be with us again.”
What to Watch For
Several developments could reshape Parias’s case and the broader detention landscape. A request for his release has been pending before Judge Olgin since February. The government’s appeal of the dismissed criminal charges continues. And the Supreme Court is set to hear a case on prolonged mandatory detention that could fundamentally alter how the Laken Riley Act is applied.
For now, Parias remains at Adelanto — in pain, separated from his family, and waiting for a system with dwindling oversight to provide the care he needs.