FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sara Haji
Email: shaji@trialimpact.org
Website: www.trialimpact.org
Media Contact: Kristy Werness
Email: kwerness@hueston.com
Website: www.hueston.com
Landmark Settlement: Class action addresses toxic chemical exposure at Adelanto ICE Detention Center
LOS ANGELES – October 9, 2026 – Trial Impact Project announced today that it has reached settlements in a class-action lawsuit over the reckless misuse of a disinfectant pesticide at the Adelanto ICE Detention Center during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, Ronduen v. The GEO Group, Inc. et al., sought damages on behalf of thousands of people detained at Adelanto and exposed to HDQ Neutral, a cleaning product regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Plaintiffs alleged that GEO Group Inc., the operator of Adelanto, unilaterally decided to spray HDQ Neutral every 15–30 minutes during 2020 in all Adelanto housing units, including while people in detention slept and ate, without providing proper masks or other personal protective equipment.
“When you least expected it, you would feel the mist,” said Plaintiff Wilfredo Gonzalez Mena to the LA Times. “They would spray us like we were animals.”
Evidence disclosed in the case showed that people detained at Adelanto reported immediate injury after being sprayed or exposed to the chemical, including chemical burns to the skin, mouth, throat and stomach, permanent eye damage, and damage to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Plaintiffs and other class members reported that GEO ignored the growing complaints. Instead, evidence revealed that Spartan Chemical Company, the manufacturer of HDQ Neutral, calibrated the HDQ Neutral dispensers at Adelanto to dispense at twice the legally-permitted concentration, and GEO guards at times used pure pesticide concentrate, 128 times stronger than the legally-permitted concentration.
Trial Impact Project, formerly known as the Social Justice Legal Foundation, brought the case following advocacy by community organizations like the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, who had raised concerns about the chemical exposure and called for action. Along with co-counsel at Hueston Hennigan LLP, Trial Impact Project litigated the groundbreaking case for more than three years.
“This lawsuit sought to validate the claims of detained people who were told they were just imagining their symptoms as they were being sprayed with a toxic disinfectant,” said Sara Haji, Executive Director at Trial Impact Project. “And it did just that. It forced a private prison operator to pay money damages for mistreating people. Accountability is a long road, but settlements like this one show it’s possible.”
During the hard-fought case, Trial Impact Project and Hueston Hennigan obtained over 110,000 documents in discovery and took and defended over 50 depositions, including those of several GEO corporate officers. Seventeen experts filed reports regarding industrial hygiene, environmental science, medical toxicology, and chemistry.
The parties have now reached two settlements: one monetary settlement for the six named Plaintiffs and a declaratory settlement for a class establishing that HDQ Neutral can, at sufficient exposure levels, cause various symptoms and permanent damage. The declaratory class relief allows class members to shortcut certain elements in future individual lawsuits against Spartan and GEO about exposure to HDQ Neutral. Judge Jesus Bernal of the Central District of California certified the class of over 2,700 people who were detained at Adelanto at any time between March 11, 2020 and September 30, 2020 and who were exposed to HDQ Neutral. The Court preliminarily approved the class settlement on September 25, 2026 and commended the six named Plaintiffs, Trial Impact Project, and Hueston Hennigan for their work on the case. The hearing on final approval of the settlement is scheduled for January 4, 2027, at the federal courthouse in Riverside.
Read the Court’s order preliminarily approving settlement here.
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The Trial Impact Project, formerly known as the Social Justice Legal Foundation, develops civil rights and social impact cases for trial. Working with communities who have historically been denied access to justice, we translate their experiences to the courtroom, unearth the facts to create a public record, and train a new generation of impact litigators to fight for accountability in court—from investigation to verdict.
