LATINO CAUCUS URGES APPROVAL OF LANDMARK ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY LEGISLATION FOR IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES

Package of sweeping protections awaits Governor Newsom’s approval

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Latino Legislative Caucus urges Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a landmark package of bills strengthening oversight of immigration detention facilities, protecting the rights and dignity of people in civil detention, and expanding accountability around federal immigration enforcement.

Under the current federal administration, the number of people being held in immigration detention in California – approximately 6,400 – has nearly doubled since early 2025. Conditions at detention facilities are raising serious concerns as reports of inhumane conditions, medical neglect, mistreatment, and sexual violence continue to grow. Between September 2025 and March 2026, there were six deaths at two of California’s private detention facilities.

This year, members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus built on nearly a decade of California leadership in immigration detention oversight with legislation that would preserve California’s existing oversight infrastructure while significantly expanding the state’s ability to protect people in detention, expose abuses, establish enforceable standards, curb profiteering, and respond to increasingly aggressive federal immigration enforcement.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and of the way our members have come together around the issues that matter most to the communities we represent,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez (D – Long Beach). “At a moment when immigrant families across California are facing extraordinary fear and uncertainty, legislators from communities across our state stepped forward with solutions that protect people’s rights and demand transparency and accountability. I am equally proud of California as a whole for responding to such an urgent moment with leadership rather than retreat. This package builds on years of work that have made California a national leader, and it shows that we are prepared not only to defend that legacy, but to expand it.”

The package of legislation passed by the Legislature includes:

SB 423 (Gonzalez), the Detention Facility Transparency Act, strengthens public access to information about incidents occurring inside privately operated detention facilities by requiring local agencies to disclose records related to 911 calls and other calls for emergency services from those facilities. The bill addresses longstanding concerns that incidents involving allegations of violence, medical neglect and dangerous conditions can remain hidden from families, journalists, advocates, and the public.

SB 942 (Caballero), the Civil Detainees’ Bill of Rights Act, establishes enforceable health, safety and dignity standards for individuals held in civil immigration detention and empowers the California Attorney General to enforce those protections through civil actions. The measure would ensure that people held pursuant to civil immigration proceedings retain meaningful protections against unsafe and inhumane conditions.

SB 957 (Pérez), the Protecting Vulnerable Immigrant Detainees Model Act, directs the California Attorney General to develop a comprehensive state oversight plan for privately operated civil detention facilities, including recommendations to protect the health, safety and welfare of people held in those facilities. The measure creates a pathway toward the next generation of California oversight as the state builds upon its existing inspection and accountability framework.

SB 1399 (Durazo) makes permanent California’s landmark immigration detention inspection and reporting framework by removing the 2027 sunset on the California Department of Justice’s authority to review immigration detention facilities. Since that framework was established under AB 103 in 2017, DOJ inspections and public reports have provided critical independent information about conditions of confinement, standards of care and due process inside California detention facilities.

SB 941 (Padilla) protects people held in private detention facilities from excessive commissary prices by capping prices at 35 percent above vendor cost. The measure addresses the financial burden placed on detained people and their families simply to purchase basic necessities while in custody.

AB 2465 (Ortega) prohibits businesses that own, operate, or manage private detention facilities, or contract with the federal government for immigration enforcement, from receiving specified state grants, loans and tax credits. The bill also establishes the Due Process for All Fund, directing revenue attributable to disallowed tax credits toward immigration-related services and programs. AB 2465 ensures California taxpayer dollars are not used to subsidize companies profiting from immigration detention and enforcement while reinvesting those resources in immigrant communities.

Together, these measures represent a significant expansion of California’s oversight and enforcement authority for immigration detention facilities and protections for individuals who are detained.

The Latino Caucus urges the Governor sign this landmark package of bills and make this expansion of California’s immigrant protections part of his lasting legacy. 

“California has spent years establishing the principle that detention does not mean invisibility and that no facility operating in our state should be beyond accountability,” Gonzalez said. “Governor Newsom now has an opportunity to help us carry that principle forward. As this administration and this Legislature look back on what we leave behind, I hope one of our shared legacies will be that California met this moment with courage, stood with immigrant communities, and built protections strong enough to endure beyond any one administration.”

For more information about the California Latino Legislative Caucus, please visit latinocaucus.legislature.ca.gov.

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Since its creation in 1973, the California Latino Legislative Caucus has grown in number and stature. There are now a record 38 members of the Caucus, including 35 legislators, 3 constitutional officeholders, and a historic majority of 22 Latina members. The Caucus boasts a rich history of empowerment, legislative and political success and serves as one of the most influential and strategic organizations in California focusing primarily on improving the quality of life for California’s Latino working families.