At a recent Planning Commission meeting, California City officials heard public comment on a proposal to build a CoreCivic detention center within city limits. The proposal drew significant public response, with local residents and advocacy groups expressing concern about the project’s potential impact on the community.

CoreCivic, the company behind the proposal, is a for-profit private prison operator that has drawn criticism nationwide for its role in the detention and incarceration system.

Ahead of the meeting, the Rapid Response Network, in partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation, organized an emergency action to inform residents and prepare speakers. Organizers warned that CoreCivic poses a risk to community safety, calling the company “a direct threat to human rights and public safety.”

Dina, a California City resident who did not share her last name, said that she and her husband moved to the area years ago when he worked in private corrections.

“We moved here because he was working for the corrections when it was private. Even then, he used to come home with complaints of what’s going on, how they were being treated.”

Dina said that she is from El Salvador and made a dangerous journey to the U.S. at age 17, traveling through Mexico and Guatemala, and personally understands the journey to get to America.

She came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 1980, became a resident in 1983. Dina later earned her real estate license and became a hairstylist, all to better serve her community.

“I am appalled [by] what’s going on in the city because we are not getting what we have been asking for,” she said.

Her husband developed diabetes, heart disease, and suffered from nightmares even after resigning from his job because of what he witnessed and had to do, until he could no longer abide by what they asked, and he resigned.

“To have this happening again right now is just a sin. We say ‘In God We Trust’ and we live in America, so this is our America. From Chile to Canada, it’s America,” she said. “I don’t understand why all of a sudden, because I have brown skin, I have to be separated from my U.S. citizens.”

Dolores Huerta, community advocate and activist, said that residents have been asking for basic services such as a local pharmacy, but say their requests have been ignored.

Rosa Lopez, from California Rapid Response Network, also said that they’ve attended numerous city meetings advocating for residents’ needs, but continue to feel shut out of the decision-making process.

“Residents are saying that we need money for youth, we need infrastructure, we are having access to water issues,” said Lopez. “Why are they going to prioritize water access for private corporations over their residents?”

Oliver Ma, an attorney who volunteers every month at detention centers in Kern County, meets with immigrants and provides legal advice. He further shared a story about Jose, a pseudonym, an immigrant in a detention center, who has a story like many others.
“Has lived in the US for 20 years, has never committed any crimes. He has four US citizen kids,” said Ma.

Ma explained how, within an immigration center, to make a phone call, you have to have five dollars, and to obtain money, the detainees work for a dollar a day– they work to call their kids, families, seek legal advice, buy hygiene products and other necessary services.

“These centers are meant to profit off of human suffering; they are meant to profit off of tearing families apart,” said Ma. “This center is going to raise prices on everything in California City. It’s going to raise the energy prices, on healthcare, on water and infrastructure… the only people who are going to benefit from this detention center are CoreCivic, which is going to pocket millions.”

Approximately 30 people attended the meeting in person, with about 90 joining online. 

Many attendees shared personal experiences and raised questions about the social, economic, and legal consequences of building a detention facility operated by a private company.

Planning Commission members did not respond to public comments during the meeting and clarified that the final decision on the proposal lies outside of their authority.

PHOTO GALLERY: Community members gather at a California City Planning Commission meeting to voice concerns about a proposed CoreCivic detention center.