Ryanne Mena

It’s my honor to do this reporting. Thanks for reading! And please feel free to reach out if you ever got a tip!

Adelanto "looks like prison, smells like loneliness, feels nasty and frustrating and many more things I can't describe but it will drive you crazy," said Jose Mauro Salazar Garza, a detained man. He also said conditions inside Adelanto are worse than prison. About a year into ICE detention, he lost the tip of his right pinky after another detainee bit it off and ate it, according to Garza, who filed several grievance forms about it. After a trip to a hospital, he said he was thrown into solitary confinement for several weeks.

"I wasn't given a shower, I was just thrown in a cell that was leaking," he wrote. He wasn't given antibiotics for months and it was only after his infected finger burst while he was sleeping that he received the medication, he said. "I was never treated as a simple human being," Garza wrote. "Now I've got a limp on my left leg, one finger less on my right (hand), a broken mind, broken body, broken heart but God is on my side."

People go hungry inside the Adelanto facility, Garza said, and on several occasions, the food served has been rotten. The water inside Adelanto has an odd color and odor, while shower water is reportedly scalding hot at times, detainees said. "The water that we shower (with) smells bad like rotten water. They take forever to bring us drinking water and the water tastes bad," wrote a formerly detained 30-year-old man named Luis Zamora Ruiz. After writing his letter, Ruiz was deported to Mexico.

Hi my name is Luis Zamora Ruiz and this is my experience at Adelanto Detention Center. First the food is bad [it] always comes cold and we have to eat beans. The restrooms are always dirty unless we clean them. That’s another problem we have to clean the area we sleep, restroom, and where we eat. The water that we shower [with] smells bad like rotten water. They take forever to bring us drinking water and the water tastes bad. They take forever for medical problems. They don’t give you the correct medicine you need. It takes about three weeks to see [a] doctor. It’s hard to sleep, [there’s] always noise and the lights are always on. [There’s] nothing to do and sometimes they turn off the TVs and also the guards are always assholes and they don’t care what happens in here and there’s my experience at [the] Adelanto Detention Center.

One man I spoke to described life inside this ICE detention center as “torture.”

Another man spent the first 8 months of ICE detention in total silence.

The federal agents that detained him seized his hearing aids and never returned them.

These are just a couple of their experiences.

‘It will drive you crazy’: Letters reveal what life is like inside Adelanto ICE detention center An intimate look at life inside one of California’s largest ICE detention centers – told by the people who lived it.

I spent two months collecting handwritten letters from people detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to learn about and document the conditions they’re forced to endure.

An abysmal picture emerged.

Read the story:
www.dailynews.com/2026/02/23/i...

Richard Beam's job as an ICE spokesperson changed one day in 2025. For the first time in his 20-year career as a federal spokesperson, Beam was told to respond to inquiries not with the facts of a case, but with spin. Criticize the Biden administration. Praise Trump. Omit information that doesn't fit the political narrative. Whether or not he answered any questions about a case was an afterthought.

In response to Beam's claims that he received instructions to engage in political messaging, DHS provided a written statement. "This is nothing more than complaining by a former disgruntled employee. President Biden let in millions of criminal illegal aliens and unvetted individuals into the U.S. Now, under President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem we are delivering on the President's mandate to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members."

SCOOP: a former ICE spokesperson detailed the instructions he received to push Trump’s political propaganda instead of the truth.

DHS’ response proved his claims.

Theres more to the story, read it here:
www.dailynews.com/2026/01/29/f...

NEW ANALYSIS: Over half of reported assaults against journalists this year happened in Los Angeles.

Powered by data from @freedom.press, my latest for @lapublicpress.bsky.social dives into the challenges freelance journalists face reporting on ICE resistance. lapublicpress.org/2025/11/indy...

What it’s like to visit the ICE detention center in Adelanto The facility, roughly 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is at the end of a road splintered with cracks and potholes. Once there, some wait for hours to see their loved ones.

Visiting a loved one at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center means navigating a series of obstacles like long drives through the Mojave Desert, hours-long waits, and then facing the emotional toll of leaving your loved one behind after the visit is over.

Read more:
www.dailynews.com/2025/11/06/w...

Inside LAPD's nearly $400M settlement crisis that's bankrupting LA Taxpayers are covering civil rights violations and officer misconduct while basic city services face cuts—and a new audit could reveal whether LAPD is doing anything to stop the pattern.

New from me: The police are defunding our cities. In LA, LAPD’s growing liability lawsuits are costing taxpayers millions of dollars in payouts. $400m in payouts since 2019. The biggest culprits: protests, police shootings, and car collisions. More👇

lapublicpress.org/2025/11/lapd...

Protests After No Kings Greeted By Horses Protecting Federal Detention Facility It’s her LAPD. She has said nothing. She has been more absent on this issue than when she was out of the country during the fires.” -Adam Rose

NEW for The Ten Four:

A crowd of hundreds gathered in the late afternoon Saturday outside the Metro Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, turning what began as a nearly universally peaceful rally into officers dozens of batons.

latenfour.com/2025/10/20/p...

So here is the City Attorney's funding request that includes paying Best Best & Krieger as outside counsel in the LA Press Club/Status Coup case against the city.

It asks for a three-year contract, and an initial $250,000 amount to help handle that case. cityclerk.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2...

bsky.app/profile/acat...

bsky.app/profile/tina...

LAPD has Alameda Street blocked off between Aliso and Temple. Lt Boyle said they’re using this area as a “staging ground.”

Some officers have “less lethal” launchers out. Some have batons and helmets ready at their side. Protesters are chanting “peaceful protest”

Woody brought his two dogs named Toughie and Charlie out to today’s protest against fascism because “they hate bullies”

Hundreds are out here at the No Kings protest in downtown Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more updates!

How press can survive interactions with police on the skirmish line The pen is mightier than the sword, but only if you know how to use it

#NoKings protests return Saturday.

Journalists covering police response will have new court-ordered protections in LA and Chicago.

Still, “you’ll never win a philosophical argument on a skirmish line,” warns FPF’s @adamrose.bsky.social.

Here’s how you can protect your rights while reporting:

Proceedings: (IN CHAMBERS) ORDER RE DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR STAY PENDING APPEAL [98] On September 10, 2025, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. [Dkt. 83]. Defendants filed a Notice of Appeal nearly a month later. [Dkt. 89]. The instant Ex Parte Application for Stay of the Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal (“Application”) was filed on October 15. [Dkt. 98]. Defendants contend that immediate, ex parte relief is required in light of the “No Kings” rally scheduled to take place in Los Angeles (and across the country) on October 18. Application at 2. They also assert various “workability” concerns and other substantive arguments largely mirroring those raised and addressed in prior briefing. Id. at 12–31. To justify ex parte relief, the moving party must show that its “cause will be irreparably prejudiced if the underlying motion is heard according to regular noticed motion procedures,” and that it is “without fault in creating the crisis that requires ex parte relief, or that the crisis occurred as a result of excusable neglect.” Mission Power Eng’g Co. v. Cont’l Cas. Co., 883 F. Supp. 488, 492 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Here, Defendants waited five weeks after the Court issued its injunction to file their Application, during which time the Court presumes Defendants complied with its order to disseminate the injunction. Furthermore, they waited almost three weeks from when they first indicated to Plaintiffs that they would be seeking a stay. Declaration of Peter Bibring in Opposition to Application ¶ 2 [Dkt. 100-1] (noting that Defendants notified Plaintiffs of their intent to move for a stay pending appeal on September 26, 2025). And Defendants waited over a

week from when they first filed their notice of appeal. Indeed, although they now assert urgency given the upcoming demonstrations, the protest has been well publicized for more than ten days. See Alexa Mae Asperin, List: 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests in Southern California on Oct. 18, Fox 11 L.A. (Oct. 7, 2025 at 10:48 PT), https://www.foxla.com/news/no-kings-day-anti-trump- protests-california-oct-18. In short, Defendants have not shown any exigency not of their own creation and therefore have not shown an entitlement to extraordinary relief. Notwithstanding these procedural deficiencies, the Court will address the merits of the arguments presented. To that end, the Court will issue a substantive order on the stay request no later than October 24, 2025. Given that a substantive opposition has already been filed, the matter is deemed submitted until then. All prior orders remain in full force and effect. IT IS SO ORDERED. Page 2 of 2 CI

Federal judge denies LAPD emergency motion to let officers to use force against press during #NoKings protest on Saturday.

I’m hearing, unconfirmed, City Council unanimously ordered City Attorney to withdraw motion anyway. Thank you! Much needed oversight!

drive.google.com/file/d/1tVyi...

Today marks 100 days of journalist Mario Guevara’s detention. Guevara, the only journalist behind bars in the U.S. for his journalism, faces the very real threat of deportation for doing his job, despite having legal status. The government has argued that his livestreaming — a common reporting practice — poses a danger to public safety. CPJ is outraged that the Board of Immigration Appeals on Friday re-opened his 13-year-old immigration case, declining to release him on bond. That case had concluded in a judge granting him voluntary departure rather than a deportation order. While an appeal on that ruling was pending, the government administratively closed the case and allowed Guevara to stay on work authorization. Removing a journalist's ability to report erodes accountability for law enforcement and sends a chilling message to anyone who seeks to hold power accountable. “Today, Monday, marks 100 days behind bars, more than three months locked up as a criminal,” Guevara wrote in a letter translated by Marcelo Wheelock of Telemundo Georgia. “I’m aware of my legal status; I know I’m about to be expelled from this country, which I’ve loved and respected so much for more than two decades. Life isn’t always fair. If they deport me, I’ll leave with my head held high, because I’m convinced it will be for carrying out my journalistic work and not for committing crimes.” Mario is a Salvadoran immigrant and dedicated Spanish‑language journalist who has reported on immigration enforcement in the Atlanta area for over two decades. He founded MG News — a trusted digital news outlet with a vast social media following, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers, especially in Latino communities. His work has made him an essential voice covering stories about immigration and local law enforcement activities. Learn more: https://freedomformario.com/

Mario Guevara is the only journalist behind bars in the U.S. for his journalism.

He was doing his job, not a crime. Today is his 100th day in jail.

#FreeMario

A message from your friendly local (and national and international) press organizations:
cpj.org/wp-content/u...

DHS probe of Long Beach activist who posted video of Border Patrol agent raises free-speech questions A Long Beach activist and the creator of Stop ICE Raids Alert Network, received a message from Meta on Sept. 5 that said a law enforcement agency was seeking information about his Instagram account…

The Department of Homeland Security is targeting several social media accounts that posted a video of a Border Patrol agent -- with an activist behind one of the accounts questioning if the federal government is trying to suppress free speech.

Read the story🎁🔗:
www.dailynews.com/2025/09/19/f...

BREAKING: Federal judge in Los Angeles issues preliminary injunction against Department of Homeland Security to restrict use of force against press, legal observers and protesters.

Judge in LA Press Club v. Noem calls out "surprising savagery" of DHS officers:

"The First Amendment demands better."

CA DoJ wrote in Newsom vs Trump briefs that federal troops' arrival brought out more protests. Also, the protests after Paramount were limited to like a 5 or 6 block area in downtown LA, maybe .2 sq miles in a city that's 500 sq miles. The protesters were largely focused on federal troops and ICE.

Vigil for missing 7-month-old boy brings out community seeking answers after arrest of his parents Emmanuel’s parents were arrested on suspicion of murder earlier that day.

Vigil for missing 7-month-old boy brings out community seeking answers after arrest of his parents.

@sbsun.bsky.social story by Madison Hart and @ryannemena.bsky.social:

WIRED homepage with my story up top

My story is at the top of the @wired.com homepage, read my scoop about the Democrats secret paid influencer efforts! www.wired.com/story/dark-m...

NEW: Law enforcement officers responded to protests against immigration raids in and around Los Angeles, California, between June 6 and 14 with excessive force and deliberate brutality.

Read more: www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

People with disabilities detained at ICE’s Adelanto center experience neglect, group says On Thursday, Aug. 14, at a downtown Los Angeles press conference, the group and others pushed for change.

At the Adelanto ICE processing center, people with disabilities face abuse & neglect, according to a recent report that found detainees are being denied medication, food & care. The population surged to 1,400 by the end of June—with only 3 psychologists.

Read more:
www.dailynews.com/2025/08/14/p...

This is happening now. Audio link: cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1611472837...

You'll be delighted to know that the four issues concerning this trial are the ones I covered in this primer below.

I provide links, quotes, context and a review of a dozen or so court documents. Dive in!

When asked for a comment, Penske released this statement:

“While we continue to investigate these incidents, the evidence available so far raises serious concerns that the federal government may be in violation of the federal judge's July temporary restraining order (TRO),” the ACLU said in a statement.

Despite court order, federal officials use Penske truck to trick and arrest 16 immigrants in LA According to video from Fox News, agents burst from the rear of a yellow moving truck and then ran toward a group of people amassed near a sidewalk food stand.

Despite a court order, Border Patrol agents raided a Home Depot in Westlake this morning, using a Penske truck to deceive undocumented people.

Sixteen individuals were taken.

Read more here:
www.dailynews.com/2025/08/06/d...