SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A private prison firm that just won multibillion-dollar contracts to run federal immigration detention centers in California is suing the state.
The GEO Group filed a federal suit in San Diego on Monday that says a state ban on for-profit prisons and detention centers that takes effect Wednesday is unconstitutional.
The suit says the federal government has supreme authority on such matters.
Private companies run four federal detention centers in California.
Two weeks ago, Florida-based GEO won contract extensions for centers it operates in Adelanto and Bakersfield. The contracts are worth more than $3.7 billion.
