We Say: CoreCivic out of Cal City!

Dear Mayor, City Councilmembers, and Members of the California City Community,

We submit this statement on behalf of the Dolores Huerta Foundation in firm opposition to the California City Correctional Facility being converted into an ICE detention center operated by CoreCivic.

While we understand that the state finalized its agreement with CoreCivic in March 2024, we believe it is still essential for this community to make its voice heard and refuse to be complicit in a system built on incarceration, dehumanization, and profit from suffering.

CoreCivic will offer high wages. They will promise economic revitalization. But the truth is: this is not sustainable development—it is a false hope.

Let’s look at the facts:

• In Cibola County, New Mexico, CoreCivic left the community with a $2.75 million loss in operating costs that ICE refused to reimburse.
• In McFarland, California, GEO Group—a similar private prison company—made grand promises. Instead, the city had to raise sales taxes twice in just two years (Measure M in 2022 and Measure O in 2024) to cover its shortfalls.
• And nationally, data shows that towns with private prisons do not experience stronger or lasting economic growth. These contracts shift the financial risk to local governments and taxpayers.

We urge you not to mistake short-term job offers for long-term economic health. California City deserves real investment—in housing, healthcare, education, and job training—not a facility that profits only when people are detained, dehumanized, and separated from their families.

Let us be clear: ICE detention centers don’t exist in isolation. Every bed built becomes justification for more raids, more deportations, and more broken families. Expanding detention in California City directly fuels that harm.

At the Dolores Huerta Foundation, we have spent two decades organizing with communities across the Central Valley. We’ve learned that real prosperity comes not from incarceration, but from justice, solidarity, and self-determination. We call on the residents of California City to reject the illusion of prosperity offered by CoreCivic—and to stand for dignity, equity, and community-led solutions.

Even if this deal cannot be undone today, it is not too late to send a message:
We do not accept this as our future.
We do not equate cages with jobs.
We do not trade our humanity for temporary wages.

We believe a different future is possible for California City—and it starts with saying no to this inhumane facility. Please join us and sign the petition to say NO to CoreCivic Detention Center.

In community,

Dolores Huerta 
President & Founder

Camila Chavez
Executive Director