A video reportedly showing worm-like creatures in drinking water supplied to detainees at the Adelanto Immigration Detention Center has surfaced, prompting concern from the family of an individual held at the facility.
The video was recorded by Ulises during a video call with his father, Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, who is in federal custody pending deportation to Mexico. Parias shared the footage, which depicts small, dark, elongated shapes floating in a water bottle, to document conditions at the center.
"He decided to show us how bad it was and that’s when he video called me and that’s when we saw worms inside the water," Ulises told KTLA 5. He stated that the water originated from jugs provided for drinking at the facility. Parias also reportedly complained of a "metallic smell" and stomach pain to his family.
Margaret Hellerstein, Parias's immigration attorney, described the conditions at the center as deplorable, citing numerous complaints from detainees about foul odors and debris in the water. "There had been many, many complaints for months about the water having a foul smell, that it tastes wrong, that it's got garbage floating in it," Hellerstein said. She urged the public to trust the visual evidence, stating, "This is video evidence. They can't just sweep it under the rug."
Parias was arrested in October for allegedly assaulting a federal officer with his vehicle during an ICE operation, a charge that was later dismissed by a judge. He remains in federal custody.
In a statement to The Guardian, Parias claimed the water provided contained "larvae, water with little black worms, which is slowly killing each one of us who are detained here." He stated he preserved the water as evidence of the conditions.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stated that the Adelanto facility receives its water from the City of Adelanto, which supplies the same water to local businesses and restaurants. According to the agency, the city's water service website indicates that water samples are tested by state-certified laboratories before reaching the facility. ICE has been contacted for further comment.
This video emerged weeks after a federal judge ordered ICE to provide detainees at the facility with "clean, potable drinking water" within 24 hours. The ruling followed a class-action lawsuit alleging that detainees were subjected to "dangerous conditions," including insufficient food, clean water, and adequate medical care.