SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, September 29, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senator Lena Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 423, the Detention Facility Transparency Act, strengthening public access to information about emergencies, violence, medical crises and other serious incidents occurring inside privately-run detention facilities in California.

As the population held in immigration detention has grown between 20% to 224% at facilities in California, reports of medical neglect, violence, deaths in custody, and other dangerous conditions have continued to emerge at staggering rates. A May 2026 report published by the California Attorney General revealed overcrowding, strained resources, and inability to access medical care across all facilities. Six people died at two private detention facilities in California between September 2025 and March 2026.

SB 423 will improve oversight and accountability by requiring local agencies to disclose 911 calls and other calls for emergency services originating from private detention facilities. These records will give Californians another tool to understand what is happening inside facilities that are operating with limited public scrutiny.

“SB 423 makes it clear that private detention facilities cannot operate behind a wall of secrecy – especially when the health, safety, and lives of our immigrant communities are at stake,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez (D - Long Beach). “I am grateful to Governor Newsom for signing this critical legislation, and proud that California is leading the way by putting people before profit and giving families, journalists and the public greater transparency into what happens inside these facilities.”

Current law allows local agencies to use their discretion when they receive Public Records Act requests for records like calls for emergency services originating from detention facilities. Journalists attempting to lift the veil on the abuses within privately-run detention facilities have faced pushback from local agencies after requesting these types of records, despite there being no clear reason to withhold them. Access to these call records provides journalists, advocates, families, state and local officials, and the public with critical information about serious incidents that would otherwise remain hidden behind facility walls.

“For too long, private detention facilities have been able to keep serious incidents out of public view, even when families and communities are desperately searching for answers,” said Jackie Gonzalez, Co-Executive Director, Immigrant Defense Advocates. “SB 423 gives advocates, journalists and loved ones a critical tool to uncover what is happening inside these facilities and demand accountability when people are harmed. Governor Newsom’s signature is an important step toward ensuring that detention walls cannot be used to hide abuse, neglect or preventable tragedy.”

“The governor has sent a powerful message: No more secrecy. SB 423 makes clear that 911 calls and related records about events in detention must be released upon request. This will shed more light on a notoriously opaque system, leading to stronger oversight and accountability,” said Ginny LaRoe, Advocacy Director, First Amendment Coalition.

SB 423 also maintains important privacy protections for crime victims. This measure requires identifying information about crime victims to be redacted and allows agencies to withhold information if disclosure would interfere with an active investigation.

SB 423 is co-sponsored by Immigrant Defense Advocates (IDA) and the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) and supported by immigrant rights advocates, civil liberties organizations, and a coalition of press freedom and journalism groups. The law will take effect January 1, 2027.

For more information about the Detention Facility Transparency Act, visit: https://bit.ly/SB423_FactSheet

###

Senator Lena Gonzalez proudly represents one million residents in California’s 33rd Senate District, which encompasses Southeast Los Angeles, the City and Port of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, and Catalina Island. She serves as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and is a dedicated advocate on key priorities that impact Californians from economic development and environmental justice to LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, digital equity and more. Senator Gonzalez has championed major policies, including broadband for all, expanding paid sick leave, advancing clean transportation incentives, and ending neighborhood oil drilling. She lives in Long Beach with her family. To learn more, visit sd33.senate.ca.gov/. 

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest organization working across California to defend free speech, a free press and the people’s right to know. It provides educational resources, engages in impact litigation and champions policy reform to advance press and public access to government information.

Immigrant Defense Advocates (IDA) is a California-based policy project working to protect the rights, dignity and safety of immigrant communities through legal advocacy, policy reform and community-centered defense. IDA advocates for transparency and accountability in systems that detain, surveil and separate immigrant families.