ICE deports Adelanto hunger-strike organizer Kyon Swaso to Belize after no-notice out-of-state transfers
On June 12, 2026, ICE deported Kyon Shakeel Swaso — a Belizean national and lead organizer of the hunger strike at California's GEO Group-run Adelanto ICE Processing Center — to Belize, following a series of no-notice transfers to facilities in Texas and Louisiana that his attorneys say violated Central District of California General Order 26-05's advance-notice requirement. The deportation proceeded despite a pending Stay of Removal and Motion to Reopen. The removal came eleven days after Swaso met with members of Congress to report inhumane conditions at Adelanto; DHS disputes that a hunger strike is occurring and characterizes the removal as routine.
Actors
Kyon Shakeel Swaso, a Belizean national detained at the GEO Group-operated Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, organized and led a hunger strike that began May 19, 2026, protesting mold, unsafe drinking water, inadequate food, and delayed medical care. On June 1 he helped deliver a 150-signature detainee petition to Representatives Judy Chu, Pete Aguilar, and Jimmy Gomez — the legislators renewed their calls for the facility's closure after the visit.
On June 10 and June 11, ICE transferred Swaso from Adelanto to Camp East Montana (El Paso, Texas) and then to Winn Correctional Center (Winn Parish, Louisiana), without the advance notice required by Central District of California General Order No. 26-05. That order mandates at least two court days' notice to the petitioner, counsel, and the court before removing a detainee from the district. His attorneys at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) say the transfers were designed to separate Swaso from his legal team and the court where his case was pending.
On June 12 — eleven days after his congressional meeting — ICE deported Swaso to Belize, despite a pending Stay of Removal and Motion to Reopen that had not been adjudicated. ImmDef and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice characterized the sequence as First Amendment retaliation intended to silence a witness and remove him from public view. DHS disputes that a hunger strike is occurring at Adelanto and describes the removal as routine proceedings on a final order.
Why we recorded this
Immigration detainees retain constitutional rights, including judicial review of removal orders and protection against deportation while a court-issued stay is in effect. Central District of California General Order 26-05 requires federal officials to give advance notice before transferring a detainee out of district — a safeguard to preserve access to counsel and courts. Here, ICE deported Kyon Swaso while his Stay of Removal and Motion to Reopen were pending, after no-notice transfers to Texas and Louisiana separated him from his attorneys. The removal came eleven days after Swaso met with members of Congress to report conditions at Adelanto — precisely the kind of protected speech that government agencies may not punish through enforcement action. This archive records the deportation as an instance of using immigration machinery against someone for speaking out, and defying the procedural protections designed to prevent that.
Sources
- Kyron Shakeel Swaso Deported After Facing Retaliation for Organizing Adelanto Hunger Strike — Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) primary accessed June 17, 2026
- Adelanto ICE Prison Hunger Strike Organizer Transferred and Being Prepared for Deportation — Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) primary accessed June 17, 2026
- Reps. Chu, Aguilar, and Gomez Visit Hunger Strikers at Adelanto ICE Detention Center — Rep. Judy Chu (U.S. House of Representatives) primary accessed June 17, 2026
- U.S. Deports Belizean Immigrant Who Led Hunger Strike at Adelanto ICE Jail — Democracy Now! secondary accessed June 17, 2026
- Deported Adelanto Hunger Striker Speaks Out For the First Time — L.A. TACO secondary accessed June 17, 2026
See also
- ICE detains Milwaukee Islamic Society president Salah Sarsour over decades-old West Bank record
- ICE re-arrests El Gamal family at first check-in, attempts deportation in defiance of federal release order
- ICE flew a 2-year-old and her father to Texas despite a court order to release the toddler
- ICE conducts targeted, warrantless arrest of Nashville journalist Estefany Rodríguez
- Judge finds Border Patrol defied her injunction with boilerplate forms in Sacramento arrests