CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — More than 50 people spoke against the proposed Immigration detention facility during a council meeting.
People packed the council chambers in California City to speak against an Immigration Processing Center on Tuesday. Some came from surrounding towns in Kern County to voice their opposition to the facility.
"One of the big, popular sayings of our time is, 'Well, this is not personal, it's business.' Well, this is personal. It is very personal to the people who die. It is very personal to the people who get arrested. It is very personal to the families that get ripped apart," Sam Hardman from Tehachapi said.
Rosa Lopez traveled from Bakersfield to speak on behalf of ACLU Southern California. She urged California City to prevent private company CoreCivic from opening the ICE Detention Center and suggested the city seek support from organizations in the county.
"This is concerning. As several speakers spoke, it doesn't just impact residents in California City, but all our communities throughout the state," Lopez said.
California City Mayor Marquette Hawkins spoke with me before the meeting. He explained the city is expected to finalize water and sewage rates with CoreCivic next month and provide what's necessary for the facility to open. Hawkins maintains that denying CoreCivic permission to open would lead to lawsuits against California City that it cannot afford.
"Some of the other misinformation that was out there is that the City can actually put a stop to the facility opening, that is grossly incorrect and unfortunately that has spread as information. But the reality is we do not have the jurisdictional authority to stop any business from opening as long as they have all their ducks in a row, all their i's dotted, all their t's crossed and they've met all the requirements that are required by them to open," Hawkins said.
The ICE detention facility in California City would be the largest in the state. Many in the community are fearful of the future conditions at the detention center and the treatment of immigrants.
CoreCivic, which continues to negotiate a contract with ICE, responded in a statement: "Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to."
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