‘You are not alone,’ Catholic bishop tells ICE detainees during Mass at CA facility
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brennan celebrated mass at California City ICE facility, saying detainees aren't alone.
- Attorney General inspection and senators flagged medical and living condition concerns.
- Fresno Diocese will seek more detention visits; Catholic Charities aids migrants.
When Fresno Diocese Bishop Joseph Brennan celebrated Mass for about 70 detainees at the gym of California City’s ICE detention facility, his message for detainees was simple: Someone is with you.
“To those in detention, I want to say clearly: You are not alone,” Brennan recounted in a short statement to The Fresno Bee about his recent visit to California City Immigration Processing Center in Kern County.
“The Church walks with you, prays with you, and cares about your spiritual and human needs,” Brennan said during the Mass.
Brennan, who visited the largest ICE detention facility in the state on Feb. 16 as part of a delegation of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, walked through the detention center, talked to detainees and celebrated Mass. The Diocese of Fresno covers eight counties, including Kern.
“This was very special; it was a very different Mass,” said Chandler Marquez, Fresno Dioceses spokesperson who also went with Brennan to the facility. “It was very touching, and it was very impactful.”
The 2,650-bed California City facility, operated by Tennessee-based private prison company CoreCivic, had 847 people detained as of early December, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.
The visit was part of raising awareness and promoting “human dignity, accompaniment, and restorative justice” across the state, an initiative by the Catholic Bishops of California, according to Marquez.
In December, a team of inspectors from Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office toured the facility that resulted in a seven-page letter sent to Department of Homeland Security officials. Bonta expressed “grave concerns” about the quality of medical care and living conditions. U.S. Sens Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff also toured the facility in mid-January and cited similar concerns about limited access to medical care.
The bilingual Mass, in English and Spanish, was attended by about 70 men, ranging from 20 to 50, who spoke about 90 languages in total, Marquez said.
Marquez said prior to the service, Brennan and Bishop Brian Nunes, from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, talked to the men and were told that a majority either spoke or understood Spanish, with the bishops deciding the Mass would be mostly in Spanish.
A quarter of the men were Catholic and received the sacrament of confession before Mass and then communion during Mass, Marquez said.
While it was Brennan’s first visit to an ICE detention facility, Marquez said the diocese hopes to get into more ICE detention centers in the next couple of months.
Marquez said seeing the “frustration and fear in their eyes” in those who were detained at California City’s ICE detention center made it more urgent for the Fresno diocese to figure out what more the bishop’s office can do.
The dioceses have an ongoing ministry for the needs of migrants throughout the Central Valley, Marquez said, adding that through Catholic Charities, its immigration department helps people with legal needs such as becoming U.S. citizens.
“So, our efforts are ongoing,” Marquez said. “After the detention facility visit, it’s just again, more advocacy and more communication to the Catholics here in our Central Valley about how important and urgent this need is.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 11:51 AM.
