BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As Kern County prepares to approve its 2026-2027 budget, local advocacy groups are calling on residents to speak up. Organizers with the ACLU and the Kern County Criminal Justice Coalition say they want to see more investment in public health and community services.
With the final county budget vote just days away, advocates packed the Board of Supervisors meeting, urging leaders to rethink how every taxpayer dollar is spent. They’re calling for critical funding for the Public Health Department to launch investigations into conditions inside immigration detention facilities, zeroing in on the California City Detention Center.
Rosa Lopez is a Policy Advocate and Organizer withe the ACLU So-Cal and she says, “I am really urging them to allocate sufficient funding to the public health department so they can have the resources they need to inspect the detention centers in Kern county starting with California City, but also just ask them to pause before they allocate the same way that they've done in past years, where the majority of the increase goes to the law enforcement, while other departments are looking at a decrease.”
One man who says he was released from an immigration detention facility on Tuesday is speaking out. He says he’s a longtime green card holder, in the U.S. since he was just two years old, and believes there must be stronger oversight of these centers. “I was detained in Texas, and I called Washington dc and complained about the condition there about black mold, and then they sent me here to Golden State Annex, and they started feeding us raw poultry meat, and then I called and complained, and then they sent me to California City. And in Cal City, I complained about the food and the price gouging due to the medical condition there… California city is by far the worst place Ive been to.” Long Tran said.
County leaders, however, question whether that responsibility belongs to local taxpayers. Supervisor Jeff Flores says immigration detention facilities already have multiple entities responsible for oversight, through state and federal resources. “That is not in the purview of the county of Kern. We've never inspected private jails before, and so I don't see us doing that in the future. Even though there's a state bill that allows us again, there are no enforcement teeth in inspecting. Why would we inspect where there are 9 other entities that are truly charged with inspecting?” He said.
Flores also pushed back on calls to reduce law enforcement funding. “Kern behavioral health is 453 million, DHS 307 million, Public health is 40 million, Sheriff is only 200 million, so I don't necessarily buy the argument that one is lopsided. If anything, it's lopsided in social services.”
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood says this debate isn't new, and public safety remains a top priority. “They don't understand that we have not added new potions that were filling vacant positions all the way back in 2008. When someone calls 911, they want someone to respond. It's a big county, I understand where they are coming from, but law enforcement's number one priority is public safety. It's the number one priority all over the country. haters are haters, we deal with them all the time it is what it is.”
23ABC also reached out to CoreCivic, which operates the California City Detention Center. The company says the facility follows federal detention standards, undergoes regular inspections, and provides access to medical care, meals, and clean drinking water.
Advocates are asking community members to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on June 30 at 9 a.m., when the final vote on the county's proposed budget is scheduled to take place.
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