DHS bought two California CoreCivic detention facilities for ~$1.5B, placing them under federal ownership that shields them from state oversight

On July 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security completed the purchase of two of California's largest privately operated immigration detention facilities from the for-profit prison company CoreCivic for roughly $1.5 billion. The transaction covered the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego, sold for about $739 million, and the California City Detention Facility, sold for about $733 million. CoreCivic said it expects to continue managing both facilities under its existing contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement even though the federal government now owns the buildings.

The facilities had been subject to a California law authorizing state and local officials to inspect conditions inside private immigration detention centers. Otay Mesa in particular had been the focus of a legal fight after San Diego County officials said health inspectors were blocked from a full inspection; a federal judge had earlier granted county health officials access. Reporting on the acquisition indicates that shifting the facilities to direct federal ownership is structured to place them beyond the reach of that state oversight regime, even as the same private company continues to profit from operating them.

By converting privately owned detention centers into federally owned property, the arrangement removes a state and local accountability mechanism over the conditions under which the government detains immigrants, while preserving the operational and financial arrangement that existed before.