In October 2019, Governor Gavin Newsome of California signed a bill barring the state’s department of corrections from entering into or renewing contracts with private corporations to run state prisons and immigrant detention centers beginning January 1, 2020. Citing a lack of oversight and an improper weighing of profit maximization over livable conditions, California will completely ban the incarceration of inmates in privately-run facilities from 2028 onward. Of the 9,000 individuals currently detained in California’s privately-run facilities, approximately 4,000 are immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. Illinois, Nevada, and New York imposed bans similar to California’s. It is estimated that as many as seventy-three percent of immigration detainees are housed in privately-run facilities nationally. This means that the beneficial impact of this legislation will mostly be seen by immigrant communities.
While state legislatures battle with the legality of private immigrant detention centers, this article proposes an expansion and strengthening of federal whistleblower protections to increase oversight and improve conditions at the remaining facilities nationwide. Part II discusses the history of immigrant detention in the United States and the impact of detention on short-term and long-term detainees. Part III analyzes the standards and current oversight mechanisms applicable to immigrant detention centers and proposes that—in addition to legislation specifically aimed at improving detention center standards—whistleblower reform generally will help to protect the civil liberties of detainees. Finally, Part IV looks to the future of immigrant detention centers and the United States’ influence on global immigration policy.