Immigration Authorities Plan Detention Center In…

Immigration Authorities Plan Detention Center In Northern California Amid Mass Deportation Concerns

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

As part of the incoming Donald Trump administration's mass deportation plans, federal immigration authorities are reportedly searching for a location in Northern California to set up a new detention center.

This has raised concerns among immigration advocates, who believe that adding more detention space would make it easier for Trump to carry out large-scale deportations in California. Research by advocacy groups shows that immigrants in areas with more detention facilities are more likely to be arrested and detained.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman Richard Beam wrote in an email to CalMatter, a nonprofit news organization, "ICE has identified a need for immigration detention services within the Western U.S. area of responsibility," AP News reported.

"The proposed services are part of ICE's effort to continually review its detention requirements and explore options that will afford ICE the operational flexibility needed to house the full range of detainees in the agency's custody."

This move came after ICE requested information in August to find more space for detention beds in the state. This effort followed stricter border enforcement by federal agencies and the Biden administration's new asylum policy, which was introduced in June.

The policy allows border agents to quickly deport migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border outside official entry points without reviewing their asylum requests. In Texas, state officials have supported mass deportations by providing land to the Trump administration.

On the other hand, California tried to stop new federal detention centers from being opened during Trump's first term. However, the courts ruled that California's actions were unconstitutional, as immigration enforcement was a federal responsibility.

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta acknowledged that the state might not be able to prevent a new detention center from being established.

Federal records showed that ICE requested to identify detention facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon and California in mid-August. These facilities would house single adults, both men and women, and would need to provide 850 to 950 beds each.

The facilities could be either publicly or privately owned and operated. One location must be within two hours of the San Francisco field office, with similar requests for facilities near field offices in Phoenix, El Paso, and Seattle.

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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