For Immediate Release // Please Excuse Cross Posting
Monday, March 16th, 2026
Contact: Palmira Figueroa, 425-301-2764; pfigueroa@ndlon.org
Adelanto, CA — On Saturday, March 14, a caravan of hundreds of community members traveled to the immigration detention center in Adelanto, California, bringing music, testimony, and messages of solidarity to the people detained inside.
Organizers say the gathering challenged the narrative that people held in immigration prisons are isolated and forgotten. Instead, the event demonstrated the strength of community bonds that extend beyond detention walls.
“No walls or cages can ever imprison or destroy solidarity, community, and love,” said Pablo Alvarado, NDLON co-Executive Director. “This administration wants people to believe those inside detention are alone. We refuse to accept that, because it is not true.”
More than 300 people traveled into the desert to participate in the serenata outside the detention center. Over the course of nearly three hours, participants shared music, speeches, and messages from families whose loved ones remain detained.
Despite losing their freedom and living in harsh conditions, those inside detention continue to support one another, organizers said, refusing to surrender their humanity.
During the program, speakers reflected on the meaning of the gathering as a collective act of solidarity. Families shared the voices of loved ones detained inside the facility. At one point, a detained father, Ramiro, was able to call his child Jax during the gathering and told them that those inside could hear the crowd outside the walls. Participants responded together with chants of “Free them all!” so their voices would carry across the detention center.
Caleb Soto, a lawyer with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) who has spent many hours with immigrants detained at the facility, also addressed the crowd. He shared accounts of institutional abuse and neglect reported by those inside and called on supporters to continue organizing to end detention at the site.
“This administration has the power to inflict suffering on many people,” Caleb said. “The list of those dead and injured in DHS custody keeps growing. But we will continue to oppose the abuse and speak out.”
Organizers say the struggle will continue until detention centers like Adelanto are emptied and closed.
“They want to silence us, but we will never be silent. They want us to fear them, but we are not afraid. They want us to give up, but our determination will not waver,” said Manuel Vicente, Radio Jornalera Director and one of the event’s organizers. “They want us to forget those they have hidden and abandoned behind detention walls. But we will always be with them, in Adelanto and everywhere.”
Media Assets Available HERE
Photos, video, and additional materials from the serenata are available for members of the press in the following media folder:
About the Event
The Adelanto serenata was organized by community members and immigrant rights advocates to show solidarity with people detained inside the Adelanto Immigration Detention Center and to call for an end to immigration detention.
