California City Correctional Facility

California City Correctional Facility

California City Correctional Facility, May 2014
Location	22844 Virginia Blvd California City, California
Status	Operational
Security class	Immigration detention center
Capacity	2,560
Opened	2006
Managed by	CoreCivic

California City Correctional Facility (CAC) is a secure facility owned by CoreCivic. It was reactivated in 2025 to serve as an immigrant detention center. It was formerly staffed and operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a men's level II (low-medium) security prison.

History

The facility was built on speculation, without any customer contract to fill it. Construction was completed in 1998. ^[1] Beginning in 2006, it housed federal inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The federal contract included daily transportation to the San Diego County Courthouse and Southern Nevada Correctional Center, and as-needed to JPATS-Victorville ("Con Air"). The federal use of the facility ended in 2013. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

In response to a federal order to reduce overcrowding at the state's prison facilities, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation started leasing the facility in 2013 for $28.5 million yearly. ^{[2] [5]} Former guards, previously privately contracted, transferred to become state correctional officers after eight weeks of training. ^[2] CAC was the only CDCR state prison under a lease arrangement. All inmates were moved out by November 2023. ^[6] The state terminated its lease in March 2024. ^[7]

It was reactivated in 2025 to serve as an immigrant detention center which is the largest in California. ^{[8] [9]}

References

1. "Private Prisons, Public Doubts", The Christian Science Monitor, Daniel B. Wood, July 21, 1998. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
2. Bedell, Christine (October 25, 2013). "Cal City prison to house state inmates". Bakersfield.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
3. "doj_mod_2" (PDF). cdn.muckrock.com. 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
4. "Detention Services - Operational Contract - California City" (PDF). cdn.muckrock.com. 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
5. "California City Correctional Facility (CAC)". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
6. Elliott, Claudia (November 19, 2023). "State removes all inmates from Cal City prison, remaining staff working to close facility". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
7. Schlepp, Travis (December 8, 2022). "California to close Riverside County prison, deactivate other facilities". KTLA. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
8. Uranga, Rachel (September 29, 2025). "Immigrants decry conditions at former prison, ICE's largest detention center in California". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on September 30, 2025.
9. Levin, Sam (September 27, 2025). "'Hell on earth': immigrants held in new California detention facility beg for help". The Guardian .

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