Democrats call for closure of Delaney Hall ICE detention center
In Newark, New Jersey, a group of House Homeland Security Committee Democrats conducted an unsanctioned field hearing to explore conditions at an ICE detention facility following recent unrest. This initiative, dubbed a “shadow hearing,” was spearheaded by Congressman Bennie Thompson. Due to restrictions on holding formal hearings, Democrats sought alternative means to address their concerns. According to congressional correspondent Bill Melugin, the facility in question, Delaney Hall, did not previously garner similar complaints from Democrats during the Obama administration, as pointed out by former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf.
Meanwhile, across the country in California, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed a significant acquisition. Investing $1.5 billion, DHS purchased two major migrant detention centers from CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prison company. This acquisition included the California City Detention Facility, which accommodates 2,560 beds, and the Otay Mesa Detention Center with its capacity of 1,994 beds. The transaction, involving two of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the state, was finalized earlier this month.
The funds for this purchase were sourced from President Donald Trump’s spending bill enacted last summer, which aimed to further his administration’s agenda for mass deportations. DHS officials reiterated that this expenditure aligns with efforts to expand detention capacity significantly, a mandate granted under the terms of what was humorously called Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This expansion is intended to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in fulfilling the administration’s objectives regarding immigration enforcement.
DHS said it used funds from President Donald Trump’s spending bill signed last summer to purchase the facilities, as the administration seeks to continue the president’s mass deportation agenda.
“The Department of Homeland Security purchased the California City Detention Facility and the Otay Mesa Detention Center,” a DHS spokesperson told News Media. “This purchase was made possible by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that allowed ICE to expand detention space to fulfill the President’s promise of mass deportations.”
The Department of Homeland Security purchased two migrant detention centers in California for $1.5 billion. (Getty Images)
The facilities will equip the federal government with more resources to carry out Trump’s immigration policies without relying on private prison companies, as DHS says California’s so-called sanctuary polices attempt to block immigration officials from using private prisons to hold migrants living in the country illegally.
“Unlike in states like Florida and Oklahoma, ICE can not rely on local state and county partners for detention space in California,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The state’s sanctuary politicians continue to push legislation to outlaw or make private prisons financially infeasible. Now, with federal ownership of these detention centers, which are crucial to ICE’s detention network on the west coast, ICE retains the detention capacity needed to arrest, detain, and remove illegal aliens.”
CoreCivic said it expects net proceeds to be about $1.1 billion after income taxes and transaction expenses.
The sale of the 2,560-bed California City Detention Facility and the 1,994-bed Otay Mesa Detention Center closed earlier this month. (Getty Images)
“We are pleased with the sales of these two mission-critical facilities for the Company’s government partner, which demonstrates the value of the Company’s underlying real estate portfolio, while reflecting our role as a long-term, flexible solutions provider to government,” CoreCivic Chief Executive Patrick Swindle said in a statement.
“The sale of these facilities at what we believe is a fair valuation provides the Company with significant balance sheet flexibility and positions us well to grow the Company’s businesses and return value to its shareholders, while remaining a dependable partner for government,” he added.
The company said it expects to continue managing the two facilities under existing management contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, although the terms of the management contracts could be modified to reflect the change in ownership.
CoreCivic said it expects net proceeds to be about $1.1 billion after income taxes and transaction expenses. (Getty Images)
The California City facility contract expires in August 2027 and the contract for the Otay Mesa facility, which is located in San Diego, expires in December 2029, with the option to extend for five more years.
CoreCivic said it is in discussions with ICE about potentially selling additional detention facilities, although it said those talks are in various stages and cannot provide assurances that those sales will happen.
Eight ICE detention facilities are currently operating in California and combine to hold nearly 9,000 people.
The newly purchased California City and Otay Mesa facilities have both faced lawsuits by detainees over alleged mistreatment. CoreCivic has denied those allegations.