Full Breakdown
ICE Buys California Detention Centers Amid State Opposition
7/22/2026, 10:24:25 PM
Federal Acquisition of Two Detention Facilities
The Department of Homeland Security spent roughly $1.5 billion to purchase the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County and the California City Detention Facility in Kern County from private-prison operator CoreCivic. DHS paid $739.2 million for Otay Mesa—about 4.5 times its county-assessed value of $164.9 million—and $732.6 million for California City—about 4.3 times its assessed value of $171.5 million. CoreCivic projects $130 million in annual revenue from operating the California City site.
Background & Policy Context
California’s 2019 law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, aimed to phase out all for-profit immigration detention facilities by 2028. Private-prison operators GEO Group and CoreCivic sued, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban in 2022, citing the Supremacy Clause. In the final year of the Trump administration, a $45 billion immigration-enforcement spending bill gave ICE a “windfall” to expand detention capacity, including a 2026 “ICE Detention Re-engineering Initiative” that envisioned mega-centers of 7,500-10,000 beds. Legal challenges and staffing shortages collapsed that plan, leaving the newly acquired facilities as a primary means to meet the funding deadline.
Official Statements & Responses
“Unlike in states like Florida and Oklahoma, ICE can not rely on local state and county partners for detention space in California,” — Jason Sweeney, customs enforcement spokesman California Attorney General Rob Bonta argued the planned Gilroy office violates multiple federal statutes. “ICE’s plans to construct a facility near Gilroy violate multiple federal laws,” — General Rob Bonta, between california attorney CoreCivic’s vice-president of communications Steven Owen defended the purchase price, saying the federal appraisal process determines “objective fair market value.”
Criticism & Opposition
A spokesperson for Gov. San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre linked the sale to CoreCivic’s $500,000 donation to the Trump inaugural committee, describing the facilities as “revenue streams rather than people.” Immigration lawyer R. Andrew Free warned that the federal purchase “locks out” state oversight while still requiring local police, fire and coroners, and added a “cynical view” that the centers could be used to hold U.S. citizens. “This is a big upfront cash award from the federal government,” — R. Andrew Free “The cynical view is this definitely will be used to hold people who are not migrants,” — R. Andrew Free
Verbatim Quotes
- “Unlike in states like Florida and Oklahoma, ICE can not rely on local state and county partners for detention space in California,” — Jason Sweeney, customs enforcement spokesman
- “ICE’s plans to construct a facility near Gilroy violate multiple federal laws,” — General Rob Bonta, between california attorney
- “It gives them protections from state and local laws, especially from zoning and environmental requirements,” — Claire Trickler-McNulty, former ICE official
- “At no point did anyone sit down to intelligently design the ‘Amazon Prime for human beings,” — Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
- “We expect them to buy other facilities,” — Reichlin-Melnick. One
- “This is a big upfront cash award from the federal government,” — R. Andrew Free
