ICE opens 700-bed private detention center in California

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California's 2019 Assembly Bill 32 in October 2024, which had attempted to phase out private immigration detention in the state by 2028. The court ruled 11-0 that the state couldn't override federal immigration authority by blocking ICE contracts with private prison operators. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen wrote that AB 32 would give California a 'virtual power of review' over federal immigration decisions. GEO Group and the Trump administration challenged AB 32 immediately after its passage, warning it would cost them hundreds of millions in revenue. The Ninth Circuit's en banc decision cleared the path for GEO and CoreCivic to reopen closed state prisons as ICE detention facilities without state restrictions.

CoreCivic's California City Immigration Processing Center, which reopened as an ICE facility in August 2025 after sitting idle, is now California's largest detention center with capacity for 2,560 detainees. The facility opened prematurely without valid business licenses or local permits, according to California City officials, in violation of municipal code. The city's legal team is considering issuing daily fines or violation notices. By December 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that the facility suffered dangerous conditions and inadequate medical care. Despite that warning, the Trump administration awarded CoreCivic a $130 million contract in October 2025 to operate through August 2027.

GEO Group operates at least 14 immigration detention facilities nationwide where detainees are forced to work for $1 per day or nothing at all, according to lawsuits filed by detained immigrants. At California's Adelanto Detention Center, GEO withholds food, water, and hygiene products to coerce detainees into unpaid labor. The company's contracts with ICE require it to follow federal Performance-Based National Detention Standards, which prohibit forced labor beyond light housekeeping tasks. Despite this, GEO maintains Housing Unit Support Policies requiring extensive janitorial and maintenance work under threat of solitary confinement or criminal prosecution. In 2023, detainees on hunger strike at GEO's Mesa Verde and Golden State Annexes in California sued over retaliation, including loss of yard time and family visitation.

Todd Lyons, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced in April 2026 that he would resign effective May 31, 2026, amid scrutiny over aggressive immigration tactics and record funding lapses. Lyons had served in an acting capacity since March 2025—there has been no Senate-confirmed ICE Director since the Obama administration. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised Lyons for delivering 'historic results' in removing migrants. Mullin took over DHS leadership in March 2026 after Kristi Noem's firing. Charles Wall, formerly ICE's principal legal advisor, was promoted to Deputy Director in January 2026 to oversee day-to-day operations during the leadership instability.

Governor Gavin Newsom publicly criticized ICE's airport deployments in March 2026, calling federal agents 'a secret police that took an oath of office, not to the Constitution, but to Donald Trump.' Yet Newsom has cooperated extensively with ICE: he has signed off on over 10,000 ICE transfers of state prison inmates and vetoed multiple bills from his own legislature that would have restricted ICE coordination. In January 2026, Newsom's press office posted 'STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM' after an ICE officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good—Newsom later called the criticism 'fair' but continued supporting ICE transfers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned of dangerous conditions at the California City facility in December 2025 but has not taken action to block its operation.

A cluster of three private detention facilities now surrounds Kern County in the Central Valley: GEO Group's Golden State Annex and Central Valley Annex in McFarland, plus dozens of miles away at an unnamed third site. Combined, these facilities hold 1,400+ detainees daily under private company management. Kern County has no elected representation on federal ICE decisions, yet it holds the highest concentration of immigrant detention beds in California. Local officials in McFarland—a city of about 15,000 people—were not informed of the Central Valley Annex activation until journalists inquired. Vice Mayor Ricardo Cano raised questions about whether ICE followed local permitting and zoning requirements, but the facility already operates without clear answers.

Since Trump took office in January 2025, ICE detention populations have surged nationwide, according to detention monitoring data. In April 2025, about 40,000 people were held in immigration detention across the U.S.; by December, the number had risen nearly 75% to approximately 66,000. The system now operates at near-maximum capacity with ability to hold 70,000 detainees—the highest level in U.S. history. California's expansion reflects this national trajectory: the state had six ICE facilities at the start of 2025 and eight by April 2026. Trump administration officials have openly stated that expanding detention capacity is part of their enforcement strategy. Every new bed filled by GEO or CoreCivic generates guaranteed revenue under ICE contracts that pay for minimum occupancy regardless of whether the beds are actually used.