State Bill Would Expose 911 Calls from Immigration Detention Centers as Deaths in ICE Custody Rise

A California bill heading for an Assembly floor vote this week would force private immigration detention facilities to release 911 call recordings and records to the public — part of a growing push for transparency as deaths in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have spiked under President Trump’s second term.

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, introduced SB 423 after ICE detention in California grew to more than 6,000 people, many held for long periods in what she and watchdog organizations describe as inhumane conditions. At least 55 people have died in ICE custody since Trump returned to office — six of them in California.

“When families’ safety, health and wellbeing are at stake, transparency is not optional—it is urgent,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “No private contract or detention center wall should be used to hide dangerous conditions or silence people who have been mistreated inside these facilities.”

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The state attorney general and other watchdog organizations have documented medical neglect and inhumane treatment in the eight facilities currently operating throughout California. All are run by private prison companies, though the federal government recently purchased two from CoreCivic — Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County and California City Detention Facility in Kern County — while CoreCivic continues to operate them.

The bill would require local agencies to turn over recordings and written records of 911 calls from privately run detention facilities when a member of the public requests them. It includes an exception if there’s an active investigation underway and requires the names of affected individuals to be redacted.

The Breakdown

• SB 423 targets privately operated detention facilities specifically — it does not apply to publicly run jails or prisons.
• Local agencies (typically county sheriffs who receive the 911 calls) would be required to release the records to anyone who asks, unless an active investigation is underway.
• Names of people involved would be redacted to protect privacy.
• The bill passed the state Senate and is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. If it passes, it goes back to the Senate for approval before the legislature adjourns on Aug. 31.
• If it clears the legislature, it goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he has until Sep. 30 to sign it.

What This Means for You

This bill is a direct response to what happens when government agencies operate behind closed doors — 55 people have died in ICE custody since Trump returned to office, and California facilities have been found failing to provide essential medical care. As a voter, you’re being asked to weigh whether transparency matters when private companies are paid with billions in taxpayer money to detain people on behalf of the federal government.

If this bill becomes law, journalists, families, and the public would gain access to emergency-call records that have been blocked — a tool to see what’s actually happening inside these facilities. The legislature you elect controls whether that window opens or stays shut.

What You Can Do

SB 423 is expected to get a vote in the full Assembly this week. Contact your Assembly member to weigh in before the vote. If it passes, contact your state senator and, if it clears the legislature, Gov. Gavin Newsom before his Sep. 30 deadline.

What to Watch

The material states that private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment, and some county sheriffs declined to take a position or could not be reached. That silence is itself worth noting — when a bill would require you to release records, and you’re asked what you think, “no comment” is an answer.

A broader question: why does transparency require a new law at all? If these facilities are safe and well-run, emergency-call records should be unremarkable. If they’re not, the public is already paying for it — in dollars and in lives — whether or not the records are released. Fifty-five deaths in custody since Trump returned to office is not a rounding error. It’s a pattern worth seeing clearly.