Ulises Peña Lopez was already living with a disability when about a dozen armed ICE agents surrounded his truck outside his Bay Area home in February 2025, forcing him to the ground at gunpoint while his 3-year-old daughter watched from an apartment window. According to a federal lawsuit filed by his family, he was beaten in a secluded alley until he lost consciousness, then shackled to a hospital bed while agents restricted how nurses could even communicate with him.

What followed, the lawsuit alleges, was months of neglect. At Golden State Annex, run by GEO Group, staff allegedly denied him adequate medical care and accessibility accommodations he needed after the beating, including a cane, hearing aids, and a lower bunk. After a transfer to California City Detention Facility, run by CoreCivic, his cane and medications were reportedly confiscated, and he says staff mocked him when he filed complaints.

"What is very consistent is systematic mistreatment of everyone in detention, and that mistreatment is particularly intense for disabled folks," said Elena Hodges, co-director at Pangea Legal Services and a member of the family's legal team.

Peña Lopez was deported to Mexico in October and is now living in hiding, while his wife Aby Peña, a U.S. citizen raising their daughter largely on her own, says the family is still coping with the trauma. "Our stories matter, and sharing them can help bring justice and hope to many other families," she said in a statement provided to Capital & Main.

No one should lose access to basic medical equipment and medication simply because they are in government custody. ICE and the private companies it contracts with to run detention facilities must be held to clear, enforceable standards for disability accommodations and medical care.

Sign the petition demanding ICE and its detention contractors guarantee disability accommodations and medical care for every person in their custody — before another family is put through this.