Ahead of SB 1399 Assembly Floor Vote, Senator Durazo Highlights Impact of Her Prior Detention Oversight Law

Ahead of SB 1399 Assembly Floor Vote, Senator Durazo Highlights Impact of Her Prior Detention Oversight Law

SACRAMENTO - SB 1399 by Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), which would permanently mandate that the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ) inspect and publicly report on conditions inside immigration detention facilities, is awaiting a vote on the Assembly Floor. The bill passed the Senate in May and cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee in June.

As SB 1399 awaits a floor vote, Senator Durazo is also pointing to results from legislation she authored to strengthen oversight of private detention facilities. SB 1132, signed by Governor Newsom in 2024, gives county health officers the authority to inspect privately operated detention facilities within their jurisdiction. Several counties including San Diego County and San Bernardino County have exercised that authority.

SB 1132 was challenged in federal court in 2024 by private prison companies, and was defended successfully by Cal DOJ, vindicating the authority of the State of California to exercise meaningful public health oversight in private detention facilities.

After detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center described being held for months without fresh food, in rooms with no windows or outdoor access, and going without treatment while constantly sick, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer directed county staff to assert the county's inspection authority under SB 1132. When federal officials denied access, the county filed suit. A federal judge ordered the inspection to proceed, and county health officials completed it in June. They published their findings this month.

Cal DOJ's own reports have documented alarming patterns statewide. The department's fifth report under AB 103 found worsening conditions across California's seven privately operated immigration detention facilities, including six detainee deaths between September 2025 and March 2026, insufficient medical and detention staffing, substandard medical care, and barriers to due process rights among a detained population that grew more than 160% since 2023.

"San Diego County showed exactly what this oversight under SB 1132 is supposed to look like," said Senator Durazo. "When people detained in a facility are reduced to writing notes on the back of lotion bottles just to be heard, local officials have both the authority and the responsibility to go find out what's happening inside. I authored SB 1132 so that every county with one of these facilities in its jurisdiction could do what San Diego did, and I'd encourage every county health officer to use the tools this law gives them. Cal DOJ's reports show why this can't be left to chance - and why SB 1399 needs to reach the Governor's desk. As long as these facilities exist in California, the public has a right to know what's happening behind those walls."

SB 1399 would build on the same principle, making Cal DOJ's inspection and reporting authority permanent rather than allowing it to expire on July 1, 2027. The bill is co-sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta and Immigrant Defense Advocates and is supported by a broad coalition including the California Immigrant Policy Center, UnidosUS, Public Counsel, the County of Santa Clara, and more than a dozen additional organizations.

###

Senator María Elena Durazo represents the 26th Senate District which includes Central Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and the City of Vernon.