Operators of a 2,560-bed detention center in California City announced this week a two-year contract with the federal government even as local advocates say the facility’s conditions are substandard.
CoreCivic, the Tennessee-based owner of the former state prison in eastern Kern County, announced Monday it has secured a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run the facility through August 2027.
“We began receiving detainees at the facility on Aug. 27, 2025, under terms of the letter contract,” the company said in a news release. “We currently expect the activation to be complete in the first quarter of 2026, achieving a normalized run-rate in the second quarter of 2026. Total annual revenue once the activation is complete is expected to be approximately $130 million.”…