Bill > AB1801

This bill tightens restrictions on local governments and public agencies in California regarding the approval of private facilities used to hold individuals for civil immigration custody, such as immigration detention centers. Building on existing laws that already restrict local entities from entering into or expanding contracts for such detention facilities, this legislation explicitly prohibits cities, counties, and public agencies from issuing land deeds, permits, or any other official approval for building or reusing structures for private immigration detention unless strict public transparency and community input requirements are met. Specifically, the public entity must provide a 180-day advance notice of the proposed action—published online, posted physically, printed in local newspapers, and broadcast weekly on local radio stations in the top five languages spoken in the area according to census data. Furthermore, the agency must promptly provide public access to all related documents both online and in hard copy, and they must hold at least two separate public meetings with translation services provided to hear community comments. Finally, the bill specifies that these rules apply to all local jurisdictions across the state, including charter cities, which are cities governed by their own local charters rather than general state laws, because the Legislature determined that immigration detention oversight is a matter of statewide concern rather than a strictly local municipal affair.