BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This isn't just about California City, but it's about Kern County and the state. It's about human rights. That's what several people said during a Cal City council meeting. I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter. They spoke against private company CoreCivic reopening the Cal City prison as a immigration processing center.
People coming from Los Angeles, Ridgecrest and the Kern River Valley packed the California City council chamber to speak against an immigration processing center opening in the desert town.
“A lot of people here are under the idea that the ICE facility is OK because it’s going to bring jobs. But I feel like we have an obligation to educate them. Yes, it’s going to bring jobs but at what cost?” Inishia White said.
Inishia White, the community organizer in Cal City for the Dolores Huerta Foundation, read a letter from the foundation during the council meeting.
Part of the letter read:
“ICE detention centers don’t exist in isolation. Every bed built becomes justification for more raids, more deportations, and more broken families. Expanding detention in California City directly fuels that harm.”
Several people spoke via Zoom. At one point, Mayor Marquette Hawkins called for a break during the public comments portion. The issue was not on the agenda, but many wanted to be heard.
CoreCivic has hired employees at the facility for activation activities as they are in discussions with ICE. The immigration processing center would be the largest in the state.
Berto Hernandez drove from LA to speak at the council meeting. He said he was once held in the immigration processing center in Adelanto.
“I drove here three hours because of my experience and what I see when I work with communities that are impacted. I drove here because I don’t wish this on my worst enemy. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through because it was hell, because I was abused. Because I was told that if I didn’t get better I was going to be drugged. No one deserves to go through that,” Hernandez said.
Hawkins was asked on Monday if he favors the prison reopening as an immigration processing center.
“Everyone is entitled to fairness and due process. I do understand the function of an immigration processing center and the function of looking at the legal aspects of it. Favor or not in favor, I think I just look at the circumstances on a case by case basis and then go from there,” Hawkins said.
John Fischer, a California City resident who is known to paint over graffiti in the town, spoke for the opening of the facility.
“What most people don’t know is the facility here started off as an ICE prison and it was very good for this town. It brought jobs to the economy. It brought other businesses into the economy. … Currently, if you cross the border it’s a crime. If you live here it’s a crime. If you drive here it’s a crime. If you have stolen social security numbers it’s a crime. They’ve committed any number of crimes. Yet, Americans get arrested for the same or lesser charges, get ripped away from their families and no one says anything. Why do people support these criminal illegal aliens and allow them to remain here, costing us precious tax dollars?” Fischer said.
The Cal City mayor welcomed back people to next month's meeting to speak again. I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
The following is the letter from the Dolores Huerta Foundation to the Cal City council...
FROM: Camila Chávez, Executive Director and Dolores Huerta, President & Founder
RE: Opposition to the Use of the California City Correctional Facility as an ICE Detention Center
Dear Mayor, City Councilmembers, and Members of the California City Community,
We submit this statement on behalf of the Dolores Huerta Foundation in firm opposition to the California City Correctional Facility being converted into an ICE detention center operated by CoreCivic.
While we understand that the state finalized its agreement with CoreCivic in March 2024, we believe it is still essential for this community to make its voice heard and refuse to be complicit in a system built on incarceration, dehumanization, and profit from suffering.
CoreCivic will offer high wages. They will promise economic revitalization. But the truth is: this is not sustainable development—it is a false hope.
Let’s look at the facts:
● In Cibola County, New Mexico, CoreCivic left the community with a $2.75 million loss in operating costs that ICE refused to reimburse.
● In McFarland, California, GEO Group—a similar private prison company—made grand promises. Instead, the city had to raise sales taxes twice in just two years (Measure M in 2022 and Measure O in 2024) to cover its shortfalls.
● And nationally, data shows that towns with private prisons do not experience stronger or lasting economic growth. These contracts shift the financial risk to local governments and taxpayers.
We urge you not to mistake short-term job offers for long-term economic health. California City deserves real investment—in housing, healthcare, education, and job training—not a facility that profits only when people are detained, dehumanized, and separated from their families.
Let us be clear: ICE detention centers don’t exist in isolation. Every bed built becomes justification for more raids, more deportations, and more broken families. Expanding detention in California City directly fuels that harm.
At the Dolores Huerta Foundation, we have spent two decades organizing with communities across the Central Valley. We’ve learned that real prosperity comes not from incarceration, but from justice, solidarity, and self-determination. We call on the residents of California City to reject the illusion of prosperity offered by CoreCivic—and to stand for dignity, equity, and community-led solutions.
Even if this deal cannot be undone today, it is not too late to send a message: We do not accept this as our future. We do not equate cages with jobs. We do not trade our humanity for temporary wages.
We believe a different future is possible for California City—and it starts with saying no to this inhumane facility.
In community,
Dolores Huerta, President & Founder
Camila Chávez, Executive Director
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