Dolores Huerta, a civil rights icon, and a coalition of activists are working to prevent the opening of what would be California’s largest ICE detention facility in California City.
The group held a press conference near the facility, chanting “Si Se Puede” in protest of the proposed detention center. Huerta expressed concern about the impact such a facility would have on Kern County, which has a large farm worker population.
“Well, that’s pretty depressing.” When you consider the millions of dollars that the administration spends to keep people incarcerated, it’s really bad. This will not be good for California City. It will be detrimental to California and the country as a whole. “It’s a very bad look,” Huerta stated.
Rosa Lopez of the ACLU Southern California has filed a records request seeking communication between the city and CoreCivic, the facility’s private owner.
“It’s just frustration because they are hiding something because that is not accurate,” Lopez told me.
Mayor Marquette Hawkins maintains that no such records exist and that the city is not concealing any information about its communications with CoreCivic. The mayor stated that he is willing to speak with the activists about their concerns.
Meanwhile, CoreCivic continues to work on a contract with ICE. During the press conference, security personnel kept protesters away from the facility entrance.
The activists, including one California City resident, expressed concern that the detention center’s opening would result in ICE raids across Kern County because the facility would need to fill more than 2,500 beds.
When asked about those who believe the facility’s opening is unavoidable, Huerta was defiant.
“We will do anything we can to keep it from opening. We know that so far, they have not followed the necessary legal procedures. So I believe this is an opportunity that we can prevent from opening,” Huerta said.
Supporters of the ICE detention center argue that it will bring jobs and revenue to California City.
