Trump Administration Buys Two Major California Immigrant Detention Centers

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has acquired two of California's largest immigrant detention facilities for $1.5 billion as part of President Donald Trump's initiative to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants. The purchased centers are the Otay Mesa Detention Center, situated on the California-Mexico border, and the California City Detention Center in Kern County.

The Trump administration paid $739.2 million for the Otay Mesa facility, which has a capacity of 1,994 individuals, and $732.6 million for the California City center, a recently opened facility designed to hold 2,560 people. These transactions were finalized on July 2nd, according to legal documents cited by CalMatters.

The private prison company that previously owned the centers stated it expects to continue managing their daily operations under existing contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This acquisition follows Congress's approval of a $70 billion Republican-backed bill to fund ICE, the Border Patrol, and other federal immigration agencies through the remainder of Trump's term.

Immigrant detention centers under the Trump administration have faced significant public scrutiny due to allegations of negligence and a rise in deaths among detainees in ICE custody. Reports indicate 52 deaths occurred in the first six months of the year. Furthermore, an analysis by CBS revealed that at least fifteen of the 45 ICE detention centers, each housing 500 or more individuals, have not been inspected in the past year, despite numerous complaints of irregularities from humanitarian groups. At least five centers reportedly have no inspection records at all.