Sacramento Taxes the Jails; Washington Buys Them. Federal Ownership Is the Right Answer
California imposed a 25% tax on private immigration detention centers. Three days later, the federal government closed a $950 million purchase of the Adelanto complex. In our view, federal enforcement belongs in federal hands.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 6, 2026 | 6-min read On Sept. 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a 25% tax aimed at the private companies that run immigration detention centers in California. "If we can't kick out private facilities, we'll go after their profits," he said in a press release, according to Fox News [5]. Three days later, the federal government closed a $950 million purchase of one of them, the 2,644-bed Adelanto complex [1][6]. In July, it had already bought two other California detention centers for $1.5 billion [2]. Sacramento tried to tax the jails. Washington bought them. In our view, federal ownership of federal enforcement infrastructure is the right answer, and California's tax fight shows why. Key Takeaways The GEO Group sold its Adelanto West, Adelanto East and Desert View Annex facilities to the United States, through the Department of Homeland Security, for $950 million. The sale closed on Oct. 2 [6]. CoreCivic sold its 2,560-bed California City and 1,994-bed Otay Mesa centers to DHS on July 2 for $1.5 billion [2]. Together, the two deals put about 7,200 California beds under federal ownership. California's AB 1633 levies 25% of a private detention operator's California gross income,