Feds trying to circumvent Calif. law barring private immigrant detention centers, lawmakers say

Rebecca Plevin | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption 8 facts about immigrant detention Learn more about the immigration detention system and the Adelanto facility.

U.S. immigration officials are rushing to secure new contracts for four private immigrant detention facilities in California before a state law takes effect on Jan. 1 phasing out the use of private, for-profit prisons, lawmakers and immigrant advocates say.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 11 signed AB 32, which starting in 2020 generally prohibits the private operation of immigrant detention facilities in the state. However, the legislation makes some exceptions. For example, it allows for the operation of a private detention facility that has a valid contract with a governmental entity, as long as the contract was in effect before Jan. 1, 2020. The operation can continue for the duration of the contract but the law bars extensions.

Five days after Newsom signed the bill, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a solicitation for four or more contract facilities with approximately 6,750 beds in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco areas.

The solicitation was first posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website Oct. 16 and closes Thursday, giving bidders little notice and just two weeks to respond. It says contracts would begin Dec. 20 and last five years, with the option of two renewals.

State Assemblymember Rob Bonta, a Democrat who represents Alameda, Oakland and San Leandro and authored AB 32, said federal officials are trying to quickly lock down long-term contracts with the operators of the state’s private detention facilities before the law takes effect.

“They are trying to circumvent the will of the people of California, as spoken through their legislators and their governor,” Bonta said.

He pledged California would fight back against Homeland Security’s efforts to skirt AB 32, potentially setting the stage for yet another showdown between the state and federal governments over immigration.

“This is the law of California,” he said. “Certainly there will be a light shined on their activity and what they are doing.”

Facilities must be 'turnkey ready'

The solicitation describes the desired locations and bed counts of the facilities, providing details that in many cases mirror the specifications of the existing private immigration detention facilities in California. It also says the facilities should be “turnkey ready at the beginning of contract performance" and that “proposals for new construction will not be accepted.”

Homeland Security is in need of contract detention facilities in the Houston and San Antonio areas, but is taking a lengthier approach in searching for them.

In California, the agency first posted a "combined synopsis and solicitation" announcement Oct. 16 and gave bidders until Oct. 31 to respond. In Texas, meanwhile, the agency issued a "pre-solicitation notice" on the Federal Business Opportunities website on Sept. 9, announcing its search for three contract facilities to house about 3,520 detainees. The agency says it expects to post that solicitation Nov. 12.

These details, immigrant advocates say, are evidence that federal officials are trying to custom-tailor the California solicitations for the existing operators and fast-track the bidding process.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, currently contracts with three private prison companies — GEO Group, Management and Training Corp. and CoreCivic — to run four immigration detention facilities in California that provide about 4,000 beds: Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield and Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.

“It’s very hard but to make the conclusion that these solicitations are to continue already existing contract facilities in California,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU National Prison Project. “The specifications of the solicitation are so narrow that it really eliminates any opportunity for true competition, if that’s truly what the solicitation process is for.”

Responding to questions about whether ICE is trying to circumvent AB 32, agency spokesperson Lori Haley said a critical component of ICE's mission is to ensure there are sufficient beds available to meet the demand for detention space.

"The agency utilizes a vast and varied system of detention bed space to house detainees, and is continually reviewing its detention requirements and exploring options that will afford ICE the operational flexibility needed to house the full range of detainees in the agency's custody," Haley said in a statement.

Requirements for locations and beds

An amended version of the solicitation seeks one or more facilities to house up to 2,800 adult male and female detainees, located a maximum of 100 miles from ICE’s Los Angeles Field Office. The Adelanto facility, located about 85 miles from downtown L.A., has capacity for 1,940 people, according to a February report from the state Department of Justice.

Adelanto, the second-largest immigration detention center in the country, was owned and operated by GEO, through a subcontract with the City of Adelanto, between May 2011 and June 2019. As part of the subcontract, GEO paid Adelanto to host the facility and allowed the city some oversight.

The city terminated its contract with ICE and GEO on June 25; as part of their agreement, GEO still pays the city to host the facility. One day later, ICE initiated a nine-month deal directly with GEO for the operation of the facility.

The temporary contract, worth $62,864,912, runs through March 25, 2020.

A September 2018 report from Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General found significant health and safety risks at Adelanto, including the issue of detainees hanging nooses made from bedsheets. At least three inmates have died at the facility since 2015 and seven inmates attempted suicide between December 2016 and October 2017, according to the report.

ICE also seeks one or more facilities to house a minimum of 700 male and female detainees, located within 50 miles of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Calexico station. It says the contractor must also provide armed transportation services and have the ability to securely transport 300 or more detainees within a 24-hour period.

The Imperial detention center, which is operated by Management and Training Corp., is located about five miles from the Calexico station and has a capacity of 704, according to the Justice Department.

ICE is also seeking one or more facilities to house up to 2,100 detainees within 50 miles of San Diego and one or more facilities for up to 1,150 detainees within 75 miles of Bakersfield, Fresno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Stockton, Morgan Hill or Redding, according to an amended solicitation.

ICE contracts directly with CoreCivic to run Otay Mesa in San Diego. The facility has a capacity of 896, according to the Justice Department. ICE has a temporary contract with GEO to operate Mesa Verde in Bakersfield. It has a capacity of 400. That contract is set to expire March 18, 2020.

Feds 'must respect our laws'

State leaders and lawmakers are criticizing the federal government's efforts to secure contracts for the four private immigration detention centers in California before AB 32 is enacted.

"Efforts to preempt enactment of the law violates the spirit of AB 32," Vicky Waters, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement. "For-profit prisons and detention centers do not make our communities safer — they encourage over-incarceration and place profit above humane treatment of inmates and detained individuals, and we will continue to phase out these institutions."

U.S. Rep. Norma Torres, a California Democrat whose district extends from Pomona to Rialto, said California rejected for-profit detention centers through the passage of AB 32 and "the federal government must respect our laws."

"The only reason to rush into new contracts is to blatantly disregard the fact that our state just passed a law making them illegal starting in January 2020," Torres said in a statement.

ICE criticized AB 32 in an Oct. 11 statement, saying the law will not reduce the number of people detained or kept in custody.

“If this law takes effect, ICE would simply have to transfer individuals a greater distance from their arrest location to other facilities outside the state,” the agencsaid. “Thus, the impact would be felt by residents of California who would be forced to travel greater distances to visit friends and family in custody, and not by ICE.”

Immigrant advocates, however, vowed to ensure AB 32 is implemented according to schedule and reduce the number of immigrants held in detention.

"This does feel like a clear example of the federal government being in bed with private prison companies and doling out contracts to their buddies," said Grisel Ruiz, supervising attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. "We are going to continue taking steps to expose ICE's deceptive contracting practices."

Rebecca Plevin reports on immigration for The Desert Sun. Reach her at rebecca.plevin@desertsun.com. Follow her on Twitter at @rebeccaplevin.