How a Company Built the Only Immigrant Detention Center Able to Expand in California (voiceofsandiego.org)

In 2010, a private prison company, CoreCivic, spent $10.3 million on seemingly undesirable land in southeastern San Diego County. That land now houses the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

The county now values that land at $123 million.

Thanks to the deal the company struck eight years ago, the immigration detention center is the last in California that can grow after a state bill that goes into effect later this year limits the expansion of for-profit immigrant detention. California’s attempts to improve state inmate conditions may have led to the company’s decision on the land deal, which now gives it more freedom to grow.

In 2018, the facility will  begin to expand with plans to potentially double the number of beds in the next few years, according to ICE. The plans come as ICE predicts a massive increase in detainees and has started seeking opportunities for new facilities throughout the country.

To read more of Maya Srikrishnan's article, please click here.