Adelanto ICE Prison Hunger Strike Organizer Transferred and Being Prepared for Deportation

ImmDef Communications
1 hour ago
3 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

06/10/2026

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Leading voice in hunger strike at Adelanto ICE prison transferred out of state, will be deported

LOS ANGELES, CA - Detained hunger strike participant, Kyon Shakeel Swaso, a Belizean national, has been transferred without notice - in clear violation of the California Central District Court’s General Orders - from Adelanto ICE prison to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, and now is located at the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana. The participant met with Reps. Judy Chu, Pete Aguilar, and Jimmy Gomez during a congressional visit on June 1, 2026, On this day, a petition signed by 150 detained people within Adelanto ICE prison was given to the elected officials detailing poor conditions. The following day, those participating in the strike, which began on May 19, were allegedly zip-tied, threatened with tear gas and transfers to other ICE facilities, while Mr. Swaso and others were put into solitary confinement. In statements made to attorneys and the public, DHS continues to deny a hunger strike is taking place at Adelanto.

The Adelanto hunger strike is one of several taking place in GEO‑run facilities, such as Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, to protest the conditions and treatment. Adelanto hunger strikers are demanding the removal of mold, access to clean drinking water and adequate food, and timely medical care for people with chronic health conditions.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has told ImmDef that Mr. Swaso is being prepared for deportation.

Accounts shared with Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) describe medical neglect, retaliation against individuals who speak out, prolonged detention, barriers to legal representation, and deteriorating mental health conditions. These allegations mirror many of the concerns at the center of the federal lawsuit LT v. ICE, brought by ImmDef, Public Counsel, and CHIRLA to challenge unconstitutional conditions at Adelanto.

“Now armed with a massively expanded federal budget, ICE has supercharged its machinery of detention, deportation, and family separation, which often comes at the expense of the constitutional safeguards they are legally obligated to uphold. The sudden transfer of Mr. Swaso, followed by ICE’s breakneck attempt to deport him and their denial of a hunger strike at Adelanto, raises glaring red flags,” said Melissa Shepard, legal services director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). “Mr. Swaso has an unequivocal First Amendment right to speak publicly about the conditions of his detention without fear of retaliation. This appears to be yet another deliberate strategy to suppress dissent, force self-deportation, erase suffering, and strip people of their rights before anyone notices.”

"The transfer of Swaso to another ICE Detention Facility with its own deadly record, simply for organizing and speaking out about these inhumane conditions, is a blatant act of retaliation.

This case lays bare a system in which ICE operates with unchecked power and little accountability. Families are left without answers and those who dare to raise their voices face retaliation. We condemn this transfer and call for immediate accountability, transparency, and protections for all people who speak out against abuse inside immigration detention.”said Esmeralda Santos Lead Organizer at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice

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The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards realizing the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.

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