Federal authorities are planning to open California’s largest immigration detention center at a former state prison in California City, Kern County. The facility, which can house 2,560 detainees, is located about an hour southeast of Bakersfield and was previously a state prison until its closure in 2024. The private operator CoreCivic has been awarded a $10 million contract by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to establish the detention center. However, it remains unclear when the facility will officially open as an ICE detention center.
CoreCivic, which has begun preliminary activities to activate the facility, is negotiating a long-term contract with ICE. According to The Fresno Bee, California City Mayor Marquette Hawkins mentioned that CoreCivic’s hiring efforts started a few months ago. The facility has already been renamed the “California City Immigration Processing Center.”
The opening of this center has sparked opposition from local residents, faith leaders, and immigrant rights advocates. During a city council meeting on June 24, many voiced concerns about potential community impacts, such as increased arrests and family separations. Grisel Ruiz from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center stated that the center could lead to more community arrests, echoing findings from a study that showed higher arrest rates in counties with more detention beds.
Despite the opposition, Mayor Hawkins noted that the city has limited power to stop the project, as the land and facility are privately owned by CoreCivic. The facility’s opening would increase California’s total immigration detention capacity by 36%, bringing the state’s total to 9,700 beds, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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