BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The CoreCivic immigration detention facility in California City — ICE’s largest detention center in the state of California — has received the city’s permission to operate.
On Feb. 26, Cal City staff determined CoreCivic met the requirements of the city’s municipal codes to operate as a facility in the city, according to Mayor Marquette Hawkins.
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CoreCivic submitted a site plan review application to the city to operate the immigration detention facility at an existing prison site that closed in 2024.
Under Senate Bill 29, the city must notify the public 180 days in advance of executing a permit for any private company seeking to detain non-citizens in new or existing buildings. The city also has to conduct two public hearings to receive public comments.
Cal City’s municipal code requires staff to approve the detention center if it meets all city requirements.
Feb. 26 was the date of the required 180-day threshold, Hawkins said. The city issued and sent a business license to CoreCivic the next day.
When asked why CoreCivic began operating the detention facility in August of 2025 — months ahead of the city’s approval — Hawkins told 17 News he does not know the answer.
Hawkins said Cal City’s enforcement is responsible for issuing or not issuing permits and licenses rather than halting business operations.
The approval comes despite heavy outrage from the public, the facility receiving statewide and nationwide attention since it began operating.
Critics slammed the facility for reports of health and safety concerns, with detainees and families reporting abuse and medical neglect. Residents from Cal City and across the state spoke at several City Council meetings throughout the months to urge city leaders to halt operations.
California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff toured the facility in January and said they left feeling “deeply concerned.” Detainees told them there was mold in the food, drinking water caused stomach aches and one woman said she was unable to get insulin for her diabetes.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security in December the facility has insufficient medical care, creating dangerous and poor living conditions.
CoreCivic built and opened the California City Correctional Facility in 1999. That prison deactivated in March of 2024.
The prison is a 2,560-bed facility that is about 522,363 square feet. It has 10 units, two dining halls, 11 recreational yards and two gyms, according to city officials.
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