The U.S. government has bought two large private immigration detention centers in California owned by the CoreCivic company.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security bought a 2,500-bed facility in California City for $732 million and the 2,000-bed Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego for $739 million. The sale will give CoreCivic a $1.1 billion profit, according to a news release from the company.
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Both lockups had been open and housing immigrants while owned by CoreCivic.
CoreCivic will continue to manage the two detention centers after the sale under contract with ICE.
The Department of Homeland Security says the two jails are a crucial part of ICE’s detention center network out west. Purchasing them will ensure they remain open if state lawmakers pass legislation restricting the use of for-profit jails, a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
California officials may find they have less power to conduct oversight of detention centers owned by the federal government, said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the Brennan Center’s Justice Program.
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“I think what we’ll see is probably a legal battle over whether the state still has the authority to inspect these detention centers now that they are owned by the federal government and not owned by corporations,” Eisen said.
Funding for the $1.5 billion purchase comes from appropriations in the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress last year.
