The Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego is operated by CoreCivic, a private company. Photo: Colin PDX/Flickr.
The First Amendment Coalition is proud to sponsor new legislation to bring more transparency to immigration detention in California.
Sen. Lena Gonzalez this week introduced Senate Bill 423, the Detention Facility Transparency Act, an important step toward better oversight of private detention facilities, where an unprecedented number of immigrants are being held in confinement.
WHY THIS MATTERS NOW
A recent CalMatters investigation underscores why this bill is needed. Journalists learned of a rise in reports of rape and other sexual violence at one detention center. But when they requested crucial records about 911 calls from the center, they were told the records would not be released. These barriers to access frustrated the ability of the public and policymakers to hold private, for-profit detention centers accountable.
The number of people held in detention centers has nearly doubled since early 2025. Between September 2025 and March 2026, six people have died in California’s private detention facilities.
“Cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable” is how California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the conditions inside California’s private detention facilities in a recently released report. Inadequate medical care; reports of disturbing, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions; and overcrowding now characterize these prisons, where conditions have deteriorated with the massive recent increase in immigration enforcement.
WHAT SB 423 WOULD DO
SB 423 would amend the California Public Records Act to require local agencies to release more records related to 911 calls from these detention facilities, increasing transparency and accountability.
“The public deserves to know what’s happening inside private detention facilities run with public money,” said FAC Advocacy Director Ginny LaRoe. “This bill will ensure journalists and others have access to the critical information necessary to document what people in confinement are experiencing.”
FAC is co-sponsoring the bill with Immigration Defense Advocates.
“This bill shines a necessary light into California’s for-profit detention facilities by giving the public access to complaints, emergency calls, and reports of harm that too often remain hidden. Transparency is the first step toward accountability,” said Jackie Gonzalez, co-executive director of Immigrant Defense Advocates.
READ MORE
Learn more about SB 423: Fact Sheet and news release.