A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit of Appeals this month ordered the district court to block state law AB 32, signed in 2019, which bans prisons and private immigration centers in the state.
And although the California attorney himself, Rob Bonta plans to appeal, the blow has been struck, and the pro-immigrant leaders themselves do not know if the Biden administration’s decision to continue with the lawsuit filed by Trump against AB law 32.
Last year, the judge of the same federal court, Janis Sammartino, upheld the AB law 32, but the panel of judges, two of them appointed by Trump, reversed the decision.
The State of California now has the option of appealing the decision to a larger panel of judges of the Ninth Circuit Court or asking the Supreme Court to take the case.
“It is not said the last word, because we still have the opportunity to appeal and have a larger panel decide, ”said Lizbeth Abeln, organizer of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ).
Noted that the argument given to rule against AB 32 does not work because California has the authority to regulate private companies.
And he acknowledged that they feel sad and disappointed by the decision, but also because President Biden has not fulfilled his promises to immigrants to give them immigration reform, and for appealing for the detention centers to continue.
What is worse, he made it known that in the middle of the pandemic, The Adelanto and Mesa Verde immigration detention facilities expanded their facilities to have greater capacity.
The ruling of the Ninth Circuit of Appeals is given in terms of the number of immigrants in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Service ( ICE) has skyrocketed under the Biden administration.
Before this ruling, under the AB 32 Several ICE detention centers in California were expected to close when their contracts expired in 2020.
If the ruling of the Ninth Circuit is not reversed, these detention centers with a long history of abuse will remain open.
The decision of the Biden administration of continue the Trump era lawsuit against AB law 32, sparked frustration from immigrant advocates, and sparked a letter from some members of Congress who expressed serious concerns.
In response to the ruling, the Dignity No Detention Coalition, which spearheaded efforts to that the AB is approved 32, stated in a statement that “the horrific abuse of Haitians by the Biden administration last month has shown that this administration has betrayed promises and violated essential values by putting the lives of community members at risk. ”
They said that they continue to demand an end to deportations and that they be granted humanitarian parole.
“ Meanwhile, the ruling on the AB 32 is another is another grim indicator of the decline in administration to Trump’s immigration policy ”.
They said that at this painful time, they need the Biden administration and Congress take immediate action to repair the damage, including decreasing funding for abusive detention and reinvesting in proven community alternatives.
“The long history of medical malpractice and systemic abuse in these detention centers , and the fight against racism deeply rooted in the system, must not be hidden under the rug. the democratic process.
However, they highlighted that the AB 32 it is a tactic in the great quest for justice. “People who are currently detained and their loved ones continue to organize for freedom and dignity every day.”
As a consequence, they said that they must respond to the call for solidarity and redouble their efforts to end all arrests, whether by a corporation or the government.
AB Act 32 entered into force on 1 January of 2020. It was contemplated that 3 of the 4 private detention centers of in migrants located in California would close in March of 2020 because contracts with ICE expired on that date.
But days before the AB 32 came into force, in December 2019, the ICE made new contracts to maintain open detention centers that could expand their facilities. Today both the Adelanto Detention Center and the Mesa Verde Detention Center have expanded their capacity to receive immigrants. Both are managed by GEO Group.
While the Otay Detention Center is administered by the private group Core Civic. GEO even filed a lawsuit against the AB 32.
In October 2020, District Court Judge Janis Sammartino appointed by former President George W. Bush ruled in favor of the AB 32, but the Biden administration decided to continue Trump’s lawsuit and appealed the decision.
The California Attorney, Rob Bonta who is the author of the AB 32, said that when that law was passed, they sent a clear message to end private for-profit detention centers.
“Prisons and Detention centers should not be a place for profit. We will continue to fight for the right to dignity and for everyone in California to be protected. ”
He said that as a Filipino-American who was brought to this country when he was a child, this fight for him is personal . “While the road ahead may look a little further, our work continues and we will continue to push.”
In June, before the ruling , Inland Empire Congresswoman Norma Torres and Arizona Congresswoman Raúl Grijalva along with a group of 24 legislators sent a letter to Attorney General Merick Garland urging him to leave the Appeal against the state of California regarding AB law 32, which ends the federal government’s use of private incarceration facilities.
“ Assigning a profit motive to human detention is immoral and consistently leads to disastrous conditions for those detained in those facilities, ”said Congresswoman Torres.
“ The State of California has every right to cut ties to this loathsome industry, but the Trump Administration filed a lawsuit to hinder those efforts. It is time for Attorney General Garland to withdraw from this lawsuit that betrays our values as a nation and undermines the will of the people in the Golden State. ”