SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As federal immigration detention contracts expand in California, Assemblymember Alex Lee plans to introduce legislation that would bar companies contracting with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from receiving certain state tax benefits and would redirect resulting revenue toward immigrant legal aid, his office said in a statement.
Lee’s proposal, titled the “No Tax Breaks for ICE Contractors Act,” seeks to prevent California taxpayer resources from subsidizing corporations that profit from federal immigration enforcement operations.
“For industries such as private prison operators, the federal government’s terror campaign has been a boon for businesses,” Lee’s office argued, citing publicly reported and corporate-disclosed revenue growth tied to detention and deportation infrastructure.
One such company is CoreCivic, one of the country’s largest private prison and detention contractors. On Sept. 29, 2025, the firm announced it had received two new ICE contracts totaling 3,593 beds and projected that the facilities could generate nearly $200 million in combined annual revenue, according to the company’s press release.
In a statement, CoreCivic said the larger of the two contracts involves the 2,560-bed California City Immigration Processing Center, where detainees began arriving in late August under a temporary “letter contract.” The longer-term agreement took effect Sept. 1, with the company estimating about $130 million in annual revenue once the facility is fully activated.
CoreCivic CEO Damon T. Hininger said the company’s facilities would help support ICE “in its effort to enforce immigration laws” and that the company anticipated additional contracts to meet ICE’s “growing needs,” according to the same CoreCivic announcement.
Lee’s office argued that the ecosystem of ICE-linked profit extends beyond detention operators, expanding to include transportation, security and technology contractors, including firms involved in surveillance and deportation logistics.
Concerns over detention conditions in California facilities have been repeatedly raised by attorneys, inspectors and members of Congress, and have resurfaced amid increased detainee populations at major sites, according to a June 20, 2025, report by the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the number of detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center rose from roughly 300 near the end of April to more than 1,200 by mid-June 2025, citing information from the ACLU of Southern California. Staff, attorneys and lawmakers alleged unsanitary conditions, delayed access to clean clothing and insufficient staffing.
Lee’s office argues that conditions inside California’s immigration detention facilities illustrate why the state should not extend benefits to corporations tied to federal enforcement, particularly as detention capacity and contracting expand, Lee’s office said.
“These companies are not neutral service providers,” Lee said in the statement. “They profit directly from the policies that tear families apart and subject people to inhumane treatment.” The legislation, Lee’s office said, is intended to sever California’s financial support for corporations that benefit from ICE operations, while redirecting public resources toward immigrant legal aid and community services.
The renewed scrutiny of facilities such as Adelanto, Lee’s office argues, underscores the disconnect between corporate revenues and reported conditions on the ground, particularly as private contractors expand capacity in response to increased enforcement.
Under the proposal, companies that contract with the Department of Homeland Security would be barred from receiving specific state tax exemptions related to employer pension contributions and employer health plan contributions.
Additional details about the No Tax Breaks for ICE Contractors Act will be announced when the legislation is formally introduced, according to Lee’s office.
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