Catholic bishops from across California congregated at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to hold a Mass inside the detention center on Wednesday, Dec. 10, to remind those detained that they aren’t forgotten.
“Each one of us represents hundreds of thousands of parishioners who are praying for them,” said Bishop Oscar Cantú from the Diocese of San Jose.
Conditions inside the for-profit ICE facility have faced scrutiny from watchdog groups and congressional members recently and over the years for alleged and documented cases of abuse and neglect. At least two people have died after being detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center this year.
The number of people detained inside the ICE facility has increased over the year as President Trump continues to carry out his pledge to enact the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history. As of early November, 1,700 people were detained in the ICE detention center owned and operated by private prison company GEO Group, according to Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs.
Seven bishops, three priests, and three deacons wearing off-white religious garments were escorted inside a fenced-in outdoor recreation area by GEO Group workers as they prepared to hold a Mass and Communion for about 300 men detained in the detention center’s west facility.
The religious leaders were greeted with an applause that moved Bishop Cantú. “In a sense it said, ‘We’re not alone. Thank you for being here’ human beings, brothers with their own stories,” he said.
Catholic bishops and religious leaders held Mass and Communion for hundreds of people detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Dec. 10 in Adelanto, Calif. (Courtesy of California Catholic Conference) Catholic bishops and religious leaders held Mass and Communion for hundreds of people detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Dec. 10 in Adelanto, Calif. (Courtesy of California Catholic Conference) Show Caption1 of 2Catholic bishops and religious leaders held Mass and Communion for hundreds of people detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Dec. 10 in Adelanto, Calif. (Courtesy of California Catholic Conference) Expand
“What I saw touched me deeply as many of them received Communion and then they came back to the fence and they knelt down on the gravel in private prayer,” said Bishop Cantú.
The metal fences separating the religious leaders from the detained men prevented any further interaction, said Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Bernardino Gerald Barnes.
The Mass, organized by California Catholic Conference, was the largest religious event to take place at the detention center since before the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said.
“I got to see each one of these individuals coming up to receive Communion as an individual person. To see their face, to see how they were impacted, it was very powerful for me because so many times we think of migrants, refugees as a category. And the category is very impersonal, but seeing them one by one with faces, with voices that are very memorable is something that I’ll take with me as as individuals on that journey,” said Auxilary Bishop Brian Nunes with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Catholic bishops intend to visit other ICE detention centers across the state to bring others pastoral support in the new year.
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