Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez was getting ready for work when immigration agents came to his house targeting someone else for arrest. When they encountered Rodriguez Vazquez, they arrested him instead, even though he had done nothing wrong.
The U.S. detains thousands of older adults like Rodriguez Vazquez in immigration detention facilities where detainees often face harsh environmental conditions, poor nutrition, and inadequate health care. These hardships stem from a new policy that requires immigrants to be detained indefinitely—often for months or even years—and revokes a long-standing right to appear before an immigration judge to seek release on bond (“no bond policy”). This policy can be applied to every detainee, regardless of age, criminal record, risk of flight, or medical needs.
Before the no bond policy, Rodriguez Vazquez would have been a prime candidate for release on bond. Prior to his arrest and detention, Rodriguez Vazquez was an integral member of his family and community. He is a husband, father, grandfather, homeowner, and was a tax paying worker with no criminal history. He also cared for his granddaughter, who has medical needs. And he has medical needs of his own.
The longer an older adult is held in immigration custody, the more likely they are to face harms to their health, and even death.
In addition to inadequate food and water, and crowded, unsanitary conditions, access to medical care is a longstanding problem in immigration detention. Rodriguez Vazquez’s experiences in immigration detention are both tragic and typical. The facility’s medical staff failed to provide his prescribed medications, ignoring his repeated pleas. As a result, he suffered headaches, stomach pain, and extreme inflammation in his feet. Staff also denied him medical treatment, despite his requests and clear need.
Older Adults Face Unique Harms in Detention
The longer an older adult is held in immigration custody, the more likely they are to face harms to their health, and even death. This is in part due to the intersection of age-related vulnerability and systemic deficiencies in care. Detention facilities often provide delayed or inadequate medical care, causing manageable conditions to escalate into life-threatening complications. Older detainees die in custody at an alarming rate. One study found that inadequate medical care causes 95% of deaths in ICE custody.
The physical environment within immigration detention facilities is often overcrowded, and detainees experience poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and limited opportunities for outdoor recreation. These factors further accelerate deterioration in health, especially among those with weakened immune systems. The psychological strain of detention intensifies depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. This includes the effects of isolation, uncertainty, and separation from family. Scientific research supports the clear idea that immigration detention harms detainee health. Older immigrants often experience greater and unique harm due to pre-existing medical and mental health conditions and trauma.
Mandatory Detention and Bond Denial Policies Face Legal Challenges
Following reports in the media exposing the inadequate health care, inhumane conditions, and premature deaths among detained older adults, Justice in Aging filed an amicus curiae brief in a class action lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project with Rodriguez Vazquez as the representative plaintiff. The brief, filed in collaboration with Munger, Tolles & Olson in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, supports an appeal from a class action habeas corpus case, seeking to force immigration authorities to justify Rodriguez Vazquez’s continued confinement.
Poor Conditions in Detention Fuel Nationwide Humanitarian Crisis
Freedom of Information Act data confirm that thousands of older adults aged 55 and older are detained under this policy, leaving tens of thousands of immigrants, including older adults with serious medical conditions who pose no flight risk or danger to the community, warehoused indefinitely in immigration detention facilities. Most new detainees have no criminal record. Research estimates that there are 1.2 million undocumented immigrants age 55 or older living in the U.S., with an estimated 23% of all undocumented immigrants being over age 50.
Some immigration facilities have garnered particular attention. The haphazardly constructed Camp East Montana tent immigration facility saw three detainee deaths in its first six weeks of operation, with ongoing allegations of substandard conditions. The Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California faces repeated allegations of substandard medical care, neglect, and unsafe conditions. Detainees have filed suit to challenge conditions at Adelanto, including inadequate access to medical treatment, food and water, clean clothes, and minimal opportunities to contact family.
Freedom of Information Act data confirm that thousands of older adults aged 55 and older are detained under this policy, leaving tens of thousands of immigrants … warehoused indefinitely in immigration detention facilities.
These facilities are just a few examples from the larger immigration system. Collectively, they reveal a system that falls short of basic standards of care. For older immigrants with increased medical needs, these deficiencies are especially dangerous.
How Did We Get Here and What’s Next?
Federal immigration officials enacted the no bond policy while they simultaneously drastically increased immigration arrests. These changes quickly overwhelmed the immigration detention system. Even before the no bond policy, advocates long worried about harsh, jail-like conditions within U.S. immigration detention facilities. Conditions in some facilities are so bad that the Trump administration is accused of weaponizing medical neglect to encourage immigrants to “self-deport.”
Indeed, after weeks of harsh conditions and inadequate care, Rodriguez Vazquez surrendered his right to contest his deportation in order to gain freedom from detention. Rodriguez Vazquez’s case awaits a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the meantime, other federal Circuit Courts of Appeal have “split” on the legal issue at the heart of Rodriguez Vazquez’s case. Until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves the “Circuit split,” whether immigrants have the right to a bond hearing will depend on where they are detained.
For more information and resources about supporting older immigrants in our community & to stay up-to-date, visit justiceinaging.org. Join our network, explore our resource library, and watch videos about the experiences of older adults.
Liam McGivern and Archie Roundtree Jr. are with Justice in Aging (JIA), a non-profit organization that uses the law to fight senior poverty, focusing its efforts on protecting health care access and economic stability for those who have been marginalized and excluded from justice, such as women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and people with limited English proficiency.
