SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A bill aimed at ensuring continued state oversight and public disclosure of conditions inside California’s immigration detention facilities has advanced in the Legislature, as lawmakers and advocates point to worsening conditions and a rising number of detainee deaths as evidence that independent inspections must continue.
According to a recent press release issued by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, SB 1399, a bill requiring the California Department of Justice, or Cal DOJ, to permanently conduct and disclose inspections of immigration detention facilities, has passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
SB 1399 was originally proposed by Durazo in response to the mistreatment individuals detained in these facilities are facing. “The bill comes as Cal DOJ’s most recent report, the fifth since AB 103 took effect, documented worsening conditions across California’s seven privately operated immigration detention facilities, including six detainee deaths between September 2025 and March 2026, the highest number since reviews began,” the release stated.
According to the press release, passage of SB 1399 will prevent existing oversight laws from expiring. The release highlighted, “Under existing law established by Assembly Bill 103 in 2017, Cal DOJ is required to review conditions of confinement, standards of care, and how conditions affect due process rights for individuals in immigration detention facilities, but that legislative requirement expires on July 1, 2027.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta, a co-sponsor of SB 1399, said, “As the Trump Administration’s mass deportation and detention campaign continues to exacerbate existing problems at immigration detention facilities across California, transparency is more necessary than ever.”
Durazo made it clear why passage of this bill is integral to upholding the duties of Cal DOJ and maintaining a safe environment for detained individuals. “Every report the Cal DOJ has published has revealed conditions that should shock the conscience. Every report has made the case for why this work cannot stop,” she asserted.
Many of the facilities’ worsening conditions have come to light through recent inspections. According to the DOJ’s published findings in May of this year, overcrowding in these facilities has caused insufficient medical care and staffing. “As the detainee population increased, it overwhelmed most facilities’ intake processes and other operations. DOJ identified multiple violations of ICE’s own detention standards relating to conditions of confinement and basic medical health care at all seven active facilities in 2025, although there was much variation in detainee experience across these facilities,” DOJ stated.
The importance of this bill was further emphasized by another sponsor of SB 1399, Immigration Defense Advocates. Co-Executive Director Hamid Yazdan Panah stated in the press release, “SB 1399 advances these core principles by ensuring that institutions entrusted with public responsibility are subject to meaningful oversight and public scrutiny.” Moreover, Panah emphasized “transparency” and “accountability” in ensuring justice within society and governance.
As SB 1399 has successfully passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee, the bill now awaits consideration by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. “For immigrant communities, who too often face systems that operate behind closed doors, this bill represents an important step toward fairness, dignity, and the rule of law,” Panah concluded.
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