Private Prison Company GEO Group Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging California’s New Detention Center Law

Let the lawsuits begin.

Last week, the Globe reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of 21 bills claiming they will increase state oversight of federal immigration enforcement, illegal immigrant detention facilities, and related law-enforcement practices inside California.

However, the measures were unconstitutional attempts to discriminate against and obstruct federal operations in violation of the Supremacy Clause, we previously reported.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli noted this on X:

Governor, we’ve been through this already. If you want to regulate federal agents, you have to win a federal election. Until then, you have no jurisdiction. Accordingly, I have advised DHS to disregard your bill attempting to ban safe and effective less-lethal tools that agents need to escalate dangerous situations.

One of the bills signed is Senate Bill 942, by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced), which would prohibit a private detention facility from operating in the state unless it obtains and maintains a license issued by the State Department of Public Health.  

Private prison company GEO Group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging California’s new Senate Bill 942, known as the Civil Detainees Bill of Rights Act, grants civil rights protections—including medical care and privacy—to immigrant detainees held in state facilities, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill September 29th – GEO Group filed its complaint the next day in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional and enjoin enforcement.

The bill, which passed the Assembly and Senate along party lines, establishes rights for people held in civil immigration detention in state, local, and privately operated facilities, including medical, dental, and mental health care; privacy; safety; hygienic conditions; clean drinking water and functioning toilets; adequate food; physical exercise; religious practice; communication with family; and access to legal counsel.

It also authorizes California’s Attorney General to bring civil actions against public or private operators alleged to violate those standards.

GEO’s complaint argues that California’s new law is preempted by federal law and violates the Supremacy Clause.

The Supremacy Clause is Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, is a conflict-of-laws rule specifying that certain national acts take priority over any state act that conflicts with those national acts.

 The company contends that California “may not impose its preferred immigration-detention standards on federal detention operations, whether those standards would tighten, loosen, supplement, or otherwise alter the federal framework,” and that the state cannot regulate federal contractors performing federal work. GEO operates six facilities in California, four of them under ICE contracts, including a former state prison that began holding ICE detainees earlier in 2026.The Governor’s Office declined comment, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

Newsom signing the unconstitutional laws continues his pattern of using state law, taxpayer funding, and dubious oversight tools to limit cooperation with and increase scrutiny of federal immigration actions during the second Trump administration. 

Newsom is on the wrong side of the law.