While some Democratic leaders are working to "Trump-proof" their jurisdictions and states from President-elect Donald Trump's proposed immigration policies, their efforts face limitations, as immigration law and enforcement remain largely under federal control.
In California, state leaders have pledged to protect their immigrant communities and have publicly refused to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At the same time, ICE is seeking a new detention facility near San Francisco, which could potentially accelerate Trump's promised deportation operations in the state, despite strong local resistance.
Notably, the initial ICE request to identify additional detention space in Northern California was issued on August 14 under the Biden administration, following President Joe Biden's asylum ban implemented two months earlier.
According to CalMatters, ICE is looking for detention facilities with 850 to 950 beds for single adult populations in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and California. In California specifically, ICE is searching for a facility within a two-hour drive of its San Francisco field office.
ICE spokesman Richard Beam told the news outlet that the agency "identified a need for immigration detention services within the Western U.S. area" and is exploring "options that will afford ICE the operational flexibility needed to house the full range of detainees in the agency's custody."
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The news of a potential new detention center near San Francisco has raised alarms among advocates and state lawmakers, who fear increased immigration detention capacity in California will allow Trump and his returning border czar, Thomas Homan, to double down on the state's undocumented communities. Research by advocacy groups shows that immigrants in areas with more detention facilities are more likely to be arrested and detained.
Democratic State Sen. María Elena Durazo told CalMatters that a new detention center would lead to "increased ICE raids and family separation" in California. Durazo also expressed concern about the "for-profit" nature of detention facilities, claiming they "consistently place their bottom-line profit above the health and safety of those who work in or are detained in these facilities."
As of now, California houses six ICE detention facilities run by for-profit prison companies. The state tried banning the construction of new federal immigrant detention centers during Trump's first presidential term, but the court ruled its attempt unconstitutional, as states cannot overstep the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed that the state could not do anything to stop the creation of a new facility.
Long considered a sanctuary state, California has a history of denying ICE local and state-level cooperation. Recently, Los Angeles adopted sanctuary status, a move condemned by top GOP officials, including incoming Homan, who pledged to send double the resources and ICE agents to cities claiming sanctuary status.
ICE holds about 38,000 people daily in approximately 120 immigration detention centers nationwide. In California, nearly 3,000 individuals are detained each day across six facilities, based on recent data from Syracuse University. This makes California the state with the third-largest population of detained immigrants in the country.
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