California City Holds SB 29 Hearing on CoreCivic Detention Plan amid Protests and Legal Challenges

City staff opened a ministerial site plan review hearing Oct. 28 to accept public comment on CoreCivic’s application to operate an immigration detention facility in California City, and said no approvals or permits had yet been issued.

The hearing drew sustained public testimony from local residents, attorneys and statewide advocacy groups who alleged the facility has been operating without required conditional-use or other permits and urged the council to enforce state law, including Senate Bill 29. Rev. Anna Carmichael, representing the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, told the council, “We have been told that, oh, no. There's nobody in there. There are people in there. There are people in there.” Several speakers read or submitted first-hand accounts and petitions from family members of people detained at the site.

Staff described…