KQED's Forum ICE Looks to Expand Detention Centers – Including in California
Mar 4, 2026
Matt Haney, California assemblymember pushing a tax on private detention operators. Wendy Fry, CalMatters reporter covering detention conditions and local resistance. Ahilan Arulanantham, UCLA law professor and immigration litigator tracking legal challenges. They discuss ICE buying warehouses for mass detention, California rules and local pushback, proposed corporate taxes, court rulings expanding detention, and rising concerns about medical care and oversight.
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Use Taxation To Pressure Private Detention Firms
- Tax private prison companies to deter expansion when bans are preempted by federal law.
- Assemblymember Matt Haney proposed a 50% gross receipts tax to fund the Due Process for All Fund and push companies to leave if unwilling to pay.
DHS Targeted Daily Detention Capacity Is 100,000
- DHS aims to reach a detention capacity of 100,000 persons, up from about 40,000 at the start of the administration.
- Wendy notes current averages are ~73,000 detainees with a stated DHS target to add roughly 30,000 beds.
Court Rulings Expanded Mandatory Detention
- Recent legal rulings allow ICE to detain long-term residents without bond during immigration proceedings.
- Ahilan Arulanantham explains decisions like Buenrostro-Mendez and Yajure Hurtado extend mandatory detention to interior residents for months or longer.