Lawyers for a man held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California have released footage showing him holding a plastic water bottle containing what appear to be small worm-like organisms. The disclosure comes weeks after a federal judge ordered the agency to guarantee detainees "24-hour access to clean, potable drinking water." (Potable means safe to drink.)

The footage originates from a video call between Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles man detained for months at the Adelanto facility north-east of LA, and a relative. His attorney, Margaret Hellerstein, shared the clip with the Guardian on Thursday, stating it had been filmed that same week. The Guardian

The brief, grainy video shows Parias holding a plastic bottle filled with water in which small pests appear to be swimming. Parias, in a statement relayed by Hellerstein, described the contents as "worms" or some kind of "larvae." The precise identity of the organisms in the bottle has not been independently confirmed. Parias said the contaminated water came from jugs distributed by facility staff for drinking purposes, and that he poured the water with the creatures into a bottle to preserve it as evidence. The Guardian

The footage has circulated widely among immigration advocates and attorneys in recent days. Lawyers involved in the class-action litigation over conditions at Adelanto had seen the video but told the Guardian they had not received direct accounts from other detained residents about the specific contaminant shown. (A class-action lawsuit is one filed on behalf of a large group of people who share similar complaints.) The exact source of the water in the footage remains unclear, as does the extent of its distribution within the facility. The Guardian

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email that the Adelanto facility receives its water from the city of Adelanto's municipal supply, the same water used by local residents and businesses. DHS did not respond to repeated questions about the video itself. Geo Group, the private prison operator that runs the facility under ICE contract, issued a statement after publication asserting that the facility does not operate its own water system, that water comes from the local municipal system, and that it is regularly tested. Geo Group did not respond to inquiries before publication. The Guardian

The disclosure arrives against the backdrop of active federal litigation. Weeks before the footage surfaced, a federal judge ordered ICE to ensure that people detained at Adelanto had "24-hour access to clean, potable drinking water." That ruling responded to a class-action lawsuit challenging what plaintiffs described as "dangerous conditions" at the facility, including allegations that detained individuals were denied sufficient food, clean drinking water, and proper medical care. The Guardian

US Representative Judy Chu stated that two weeks before her public remarks, a federal judge had ordered ICE to immediately improve conditions at Adelanto, yet detainees were still being forced to drink contaminated water. Rep. Judy Chu

Parias had long complained to his family about the quality of drinking water at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, according to an earlier report. Spokesman-Review

Parias is a TikTok creator known as Richard LA who received national attention after being shot by an ICE agent in October and subsequently charged with assault. A federal judge dismissed the assault charge, and Parias was transferred to ICE custody, where he is now facing removal proceedings. (Removal proceedings are the legal process by which a person may be deported from the United States.) The Guardian

The broader context here matters for assessing what comes next. The Adelanto facility has been the subject of sustained legal scrutiny, with the class-action suit producing a judicial order whose specific language on potable water now reads as a direct rebuke of the conditions Parias documented. The video, whatever the precise nature of the organisms in the bottle, is likely to be introduced as evidence in that ongoing litigation. The gap between the court's injunction and the conditions depicted in the footage raises questions about monitoring and enforcement mechanisms at ICE-contracted facilities, particularly those operated by private contractors like Geo Group, whose public statements have focused on the municipal water source rather than on conditions within the facility's own distribution infrastructure.

The competing accounts from DHS, Geo Group, and Parias's legal team do not necessarily contradict each other on the narrow question of water sourcing. Municipal water can become contaminated at multiple points between the supply and the moment of consumption, including storage containers, dispensing equipment, and internal plumbing. What remains unresolved is whether the organisms in the bottle originated from the municipal supply, the facility's water storage and distribution system, or the specific jugs Parias identified. Geo Group's assertion of regular testing does not address whether such testing covers water at the point of distribution to detainees or only at the point of intake from the municipal system. This is a distinction with significant legal and public health implications.