California immigration detainee alleges sexual abuse by officer

A 28-year-old immigration detainee identified only as “E” has reportedly filed a $10 million federal complaint alleging repeated sexual assault by a lieutenant at California’s Golden State Annex detention facility in McFarland, adding to what advocates describe as a widespread pattern of sexual abuse across the country’s immigration detention system.

The detainee and his allegations: E claims that beginning in May 2023, Lt. Quin repeatedly called him to a private office without cameras or other staff present late at night, as per the Los Angeles Times. There, the lieutenant allegedly made sexual remarks and ultimately forced E to allow him to perform oral sex by threatening to disclose his bisexuality to his family and to speed up his deportation. When E first resisted, Quin allegedly threatened to declare a “code black” emergency that would lead to charges of assaulting a federal officer.

The complaint states Quin provided E with contraband including a cellphone and alcohol, and that other staff knew about the abuse, with one guard making sexually degrading comments suggesting E was seeking sexual contact with Quin. At least two other detainees filed separate reports stating Quin sexually harassed them.

What authorities are saying: Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), “through its own investigation reviewed by [the DHS office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties] — could not substantiate any complaint of sexual assault or rape,” adding that the complaints were filed in 2024 before current DHS leadership.

DHS closed multiple investigations into allegations against Quin citing Trump’s executive order that prohibits federal funds to “promote gender ideology” because one complainant was transgender. Regarding similar allegations at a Louisiana facility, McLaughlin had called the accusations a “hoax,” noting “the media is clearly desperate for these allegations of inhumane conditions at this facility to be true.”

The big picture: Both California and Louisiana facilities where abuse has been alleged are run by GEO Group, ICE’s largest detention contractor, which has faced repeated accusations. Quin reportedly received a promotion to chief of security at GEO Group’s Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana, working there until August.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reduced oversight bodies, cutting the civil rights office from 147 positions to 22 and the immigration detention ombudsman office from approximately 118 to roughly 10. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, nearly 200 allegations of sexual abuse from detainees have been reported since 2007 alone, likely just “the very tip of the iceberg.”

What this means: For Asian Americans and communities of color in the immigration system, these allegations reveal a troubling reality: detention facilities function with impunity while systematically dismissing complaints. Lee Ann Felder-Heim, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, which filed an earlier complaint on behalf of E, told the Times that the issue is “a system of impunity and abuse,” noting staff actively helped facilitate misconduct. The gutting of oversight mechanisms disproportionately harms immigrant communities, particularly LGBTQ+ individuals of color whose complaints are now rejected on ideological grounds. When detainees are denied accountability while abusers receive promotions, it shows systemic failures that prioritize corporate contracts over human dignity.

E was deported late last month after dropping his case, forced to forgo his appellate rights “without really getting a conclusion to receiving justice.” The California Attorney General’s investigation, however, remains open.