BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 1289 (Lara) - Law enforcement: immigration ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 11, 2016 |Policy Vote: JUD. 5 - 2 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 1289 would prohibit local law enforcement agencies and local governments from contracting with for-profit entities to detain immigrants on behalf of federal immigration authorities. This bill would authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney or city attorney to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief and seek a civil penalty of $25,000, as specified, when an immigrant detention facility deprives an immigrant detainee of his or her rights, as specified. Fiscal Impact: Attorney General (AG) : Potentially significant workload increase (General Fund) should the AG choose to bring civil actions for injunctive and other equitable relief, offset in part by civil penalty revenues. To the extent the number and complexity of cases brought forward is significant, costs could rise into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. SB 1289 (Lara) Page 1 of ? Local prosecutors : Potentially significant non-reimbursable local costs (Local Funds) to bring civil actions for injunctive and other equitable relief, offset in part by civil penalty revenues. Local governments/agencies : Potentially significant loss of future revenue (Local Funds) due to the inability to contract with for-profit entities for immigrant detention services. To the extent a local law enforcement agency opts to detain immigrants in its facilities through a direct contract with the federal government, the agency could incur potentially significant non-reimbursable costs (Local Funds) to ensure immigrant detainee rights as prescribed are met. Private contractors/vendors : Unknown, potentially major costs (private funds) to adhere to the specified standards and processes for detainee transfers and rights to counsel, translators, interpreters, and medical care as outlined in the bill. Background: Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors on behalf of its sheriff, and a legislative body of a city on behalf of its chief of police, to contract to provide supplemental law enforcement services to private individuals, private entities, and private corporations in specified circumstances and subject to certain conditions. As stated in the Senate Committee on Judiciary analysis of this measure: In California, and around the country, for-profit detention facilities are increasingly relied upon to detain immigrants who are oftentimes eligible for Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status immigration relief, Victims of Crime Visas (U-Visas), Victims of Human Trafficking Visas (T-Visas), or other forms of immigration relief. Additionally, a few local government and local law enforcement entities choose to enter into agreements with federal immigration authorities to detain immigrants in their county or city jails on behalf of the federal immigration authorities. For-profit detention facilities are accountable to their shareholders and not the people of the State of California. Oftentimes, immigrants in immigrant detention facilities are escaping persecution in their countries of origin and in need of special care due to their persecution or because they have SB 1289 (Lara) Page 2 of ? suffered arduous journeys as unaccompanied children. Ensuring that immigrants are provided with the services they need to heal oftentimes is in contrast to corporate interests. Because these facilities are private, they routinely claim exemptions to the California's Public Records Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act. Despite the lack of access to records through these acts, there have been reports of inadequate medical care, suicide attempts, sexual assault, and even deaths at for-profit immigrant detention facilities. Somewhat perversely, because immigration detention is technically a civil form of confinement, immigrants in immigrant detention facilities lack many of the safeguards of the criminal justice system, including access to counsel. Local government and law enforcement entities that choose to contract with immigration authorities to detain immigrants are to adhere to national immigration detention standards, promulgated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regardless of whether they detain the immigrants in their local jails or contract their immigrant detention duties out to private for-profit corporations. But many detainees have reported experiencing deplorable conditions at city and county immigrant detention facilities in violation of the national standards. No meaningful enforcement mechanism currently exists to hold immigration detention facilities accountable, whether for-profit or run by local governmental agency, when they violate immigrant detainees' rights. Proposed Law: This bill would prohibit local governments or local law enforcement agencies from entering into or renewing a contract, or modifying a contract to extend the length of the contract, with a private corporation, contractor or vendor to detain immigrants for profit, on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement, or the United States Marshals Service. Additionally, this bill: Provides that if an immigrant detention facility chooses to enter into a contract to detain immigrants in civil immigration proceedings, it shall detain immigrants only pursuant to a contract that requires the entity contracting SB 1289 (Lara) Page 3 of ? with DHS or other federal agency to adhere to the standards for detaining those individuals described in the 2011 Operations Manual ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards, as corrected and clarified in 2013. Prohibits immigrant detention facilities, their agents, or those acting on their behalf from depriving immigrant detainees of (1) access to legal representation; (2) access to translator or interpretation services; (3) medical care; (4) freedom from harm or harassment; or (5) privacy. Requires immigrant detention facilities to complete enumerated activities when an immigrant detainee is transferred to ensure that there is no delay, disruption, or denial of medical treatment, after or before detainee transfer. Prohibits the involuntary placement of an immigration detainee in segregated housing because of the detainee's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Requires immigrant detention facilities to have a Legal Orientation Program, as specified, that includes an orientation on immigration removal proceedings and forms of relief, distribution of self-help materials, provision of private and individual consultations with unrepresented detainees to discuss their cases, and referrals to pro bono legal services. Authorizes the Attorney General, any district attorney, or city attorney to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California and seek a civil penalty of $25,000, as specified, when an immigrant detention facility, or its agent or person acting on its behalf deprives an immigrant detainee of his or her rights, as specified. Authorizes any individual who has been deprived of his or her rights to bring a civil action for damages, including, but not limited to, damages, injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief, when an immigrant detention facility, its agent or person acting on its behalf deprives an immigrant detainee of his or her rights, as specified. Requires that if a civil penalty is requested by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or city attorney, the civil penalty shall be assessed individually against each person who is determined to have violated the legal rights of a detained immigrant and awarded to each individual whose rights are determined to be violated. Provides that the court may award the petitioner or plaintiff SB 1289 (Lara) Page 4 of ? reasonable attorney's fees and costs in addition to any damages, injunction, or other equitable relief. Includes related legislative findings and declarations. Staff Comments: The office of the Attorney General has indicated potentially significant costs to address an increase in workload should be bill be enacted. Additional workload would include the cost of additional staffing to complete the drafting of pleadings, discovery, and extensive legal research required for these cases. By prohibiting local governments and law enforcement agencies from contracting with for-profit entities to detain immigrants on behalf of federal immigration authorities, this bill could result in some degree of lost revenue to local entities. For example, based on information reported by the Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), an intergovernmental service agreement (IGSA) that utilizes the City of Adelanto for a contract between the GEO Group and ICE for immigrant detention at the Adelanto Detention Facility, could potentially result in lost revenue to the City of nearly $228,000 (based on a flat administrative fee of $50,000 per year for the facility and a reimbursement rate of $0.75 per person per day for 650 persons). Staff notes the provisions of this measure do not prohibit an IGSA between a local entity and the federal government, should a local government entity, such as a law enforcement agency, choose to detain immigrants on behalf of the federal government. By prohibiting the practice of subcontracting with for-profit entities for use of its facilities, a direct contract between a law enforcement agency and the federal government to detain immigrants in its own local facilities could result in significant costs to local agencies to ensure immigrant detainee rights as prescribed in the bill are met. It is unclear to what degree the existing pressure on the capacity of local jails would be impacted by this bill, but as previously noted, the detention of immigrants on behalf of the federal immigration authorities is optional. To the extent local agencies do not have sufficient capacity or resources, local agencies could choose not to enter into such agreements. SB 1289 (Lara) Page 5 of ? -- END --