AB 32, codified at Cal. Pen. Code §§ 5003.1, 9500 et. seq., was authored by Assembly member Bonta and passed in partnership with the California Dignity Not Detention Coalition. AB 32 stops the use of for-profit prisons by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The las also bans the operation of private detention facilities in both the civil and criminal context, aside from specific exemptions. The GEO Group and the Federal government have sued the state of California, alleging the law to be an unconstitutional attempt to regulate immigration enforcement, and requesting a preliminary injunction to stop the law from going into effect. In October 2020, Judge Sammartino largely denied this request, largely finding the law constitutional. The ILRC, along with Human Rights Watch, and Freedom for Immigrants, submitted an amicus brief in this case. Litigation is ongoing. Select documents relevant to this suit are provided below.
