Attorneys for a man held at a California immigration detention center released video showing a bottle of drinking water apparently contaminated with worm-like creatures.
The footage, shared by Carlitos Ricardo Parias’s legal team, was recorded during a video call this week. Parias, detained at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility northeast of Los Angeles, held up a plastic bottle filled with water that contained small, moving pests.
Video emerges following court order for clean water
Margaret Hellerstein, one of Parias’s attorneys, provided the clip to reporters on Thursday. In a statement translated from Spanish, Parias described the contaminants as “worms” or “larvae,” though the exact nature of the organisms remains unclear. He said the water came from jugs distributed to detainees and that he preserved the sample as evidence.
“This is what they give us: water with larvae, water with little black worms, which is slowly harming those of us detained here,” Parias said. “We need safe drinking water and better treatment.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A spokesperson stated in an email that the facility receives its water from the city of Adelanto and provides the same supply used by local residents and businesses. Geo Group, the private company operating the detention center, also did not reply to inquiries.
The video appeared weeks after a federal judge ordered ICE to ensure 24-hour access to clean, drinkable water at Adelanto. The ruling followed a class-action lawsuit alleging dangerous conditions, including insufficient food, unsafe drinking water, and inadequate medical care.
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Legal advocates raise concerns over compliance
Rebecca Brown, supervising attorney at Public Counsel, one of the firms involved in the lawsuit, called the footage disturbing. She said detainees had long complained about water quality, but the video provided new proof. “We’ve heard of water being murky, tasting terrible, and containing unknown particles,” Brown said.
Carl Bergquist, an attorney with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, another plaintiff group, questioned whether the government was meeting the judge’s order. The lawsuit described tap water at the facility as discolored and odd-tasting.
Parias, a TikTok creator known as Richard LA, gained attention last year after an ICE agent shot him and later charged him with assault. A federal judge dismissed the charge, and Parias was transferred to ICE custody, where removal proceedings are now underway.
Hellerstein said she was horrified when she saw the video. “This is visual evidence. Officials can’t ignore it.” The footage has circulated among immigration advocates and attorneys in recent days, though lawyers involved in the class-action case said they had not received direct reports from other detainees about similar contaminants.
The Adelanto facility has faced criticism over conditions, including medical neglect and unsanitary living spaces. The judge’s order required ICE to address water access and other standards, but compliance remains disputed.
