By admin 
A new California law attempting to establish protections for people in federal immigration detention centers is being challenged by a major private prison company.
Read more New data: Super El Niño to bring even more rain to California, how much could we get?
Senate Bill 942 aims to guarantee detainees have the right to mental health services, medical care and adequate food. The GEO Group, which houses immigrants in detention centers near Bakersfield and in Southern California, said in a lawsuit the state could not “impose its preferred immigration-detention standards on federal detention operations.”
Scrutiny of private immigration detention centers has increased under President Donald Trump, who has made increasing immigration enforcement a major priority since returning to office last year. The California Attorney General’s Office released a report earlier this year that documented in detention centers under Trump.
State Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, said the bill would serve as a bill of rights
“These are basic standards of humane treatment required of all civil detention facilities in California,” Caballero said in a statement. “I stand by this law and know that the Attorney General’s office will defend it vigorously to ensure California protects the health, dignity, and humanity of every person in our state.”
Read more Rancho Cordova awarded over $3M for road improvements. Where projects will be
The Attorney’s General’s Office said it would “vigorously defend this important law in court.” The Governor’s Office declined to comment.
The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate with two-thirds support and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29 along with several other immigration-related measures.
“California may not transform those federal detention operations into state-regulated facilities merely by directing its commands to the contractor that performs the federal work,” the lawsuit said.
The company is asking a judge to deem the law unconstitutional and prevent the state from putting it into effect.
Read more Read The Bee’s endorsement for California’s 1st Assembly District | Opinion
The Bee’s Sharon Bernstein contributed to this story.
This story was originally published October 7, 2026 at 6:28 PM.