Out in the middle of the Mojave Desert and surrounded by Joshua trees, marijuana dispensaries and razor wire, the remote Adelanto ICE Processing Center is a difficult place to visit.

The facility, roughly 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is on a road splintered with cracks and potholes. Once there, some wait for hours to see their loved ones. If a visitor happens to be wearing anything forbidden by the dress code – say a crop top, or shorts that rise above the mid-thigh – they won’t get to see them at all.

Melanie Lesage is among those who have been navigating the hurdles. Her husband, 25-year-old Jairo Palma, was detained by federal agents in July, she said, at a routine ICE check-in appointment at the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. He has been held at Adelanto for four mon

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