IDA is sponsoring SB 942 – Private Detention Facility Oversight and Standards Act of 2026. The bill closes this regulatory gap by requiring private detention facilities to obtain a state license through the State Department of Public Health as a condition of operating in California. Licensure would be tied to compliance with the health and safety standards already required under federal contracts. The bill authorizes license issuance, denial, suspension, or revocation, and establishes strong enforcement tools including civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation per day and mandatory corrective action plans. It also includes whistleblower protections to prohibit retaliation against anyone who reports health or safety violations.
Summary of the bill: https://www.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB942
SB 942: Civil Detainees’ Bill of Rights
Establishing enforceable protections for people held in civil immigration detention
SB 942, the Civil Detainees’ Bill of Rights Act of 2026, was signed into law on September 29, 2026. Authored by Senator Anna Caballero and co-sponsored by Immigrant Defense Advocates and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the law establishes statewide health, safety, and dignity protections for people held in civil detention facilities, including immigration detention facilities.
Immigration detention is civil detention. People held while their immigration cases proceed are not serving criminal sentences simply because they are in immigration custody.
Yet people held in immigration detention have repeatedly reported serious problems involving medical and mental health care, food and water, sanitation, use of force, isolation, and other conditions of confinement. California Department of Justice inspections have documented deficiencies across facilities holding people in federal immigration custody.
SB 942 establishes clear rights under California law and gives the state tools to enforce them.
Establishing Basic Rights in Civil Detention
The premise behind SB 942 is straightforward: confinement does not eliminate a person’s basic rights to health, safety, dignity, and humane treatment.
The law establishes protections including the right to:
- Dignity, privacy and humane care
- Prompt mental health, medical and dental care
- Freedom from unnecessary or excessive physical restraint, isolation, medication, abuse or neglect
- Religious freedom
- Physical exercise and recreational opportunities
- Clean drinking water
- Functioning toilets and showers
- Clean and properly maintained living quarters
- Safe, healthy and adequate food
The law also includes protections involving communication with loved ones and access to legal counsel.
Rights With Enforcement Behind Them
SB 942 does more than state principles.
The law requires covered facility operators to protect the rights established in the statute and gives the California Attorney General authority to investigate violations.
The Attorney General may bring civil actions seeking injunctive, declaratory, or other equitable relief and may seek civil penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation. Facility operators must also provide the Attorney General or a designated representative access necessary to investigate compliance, including access to facilities, detained people, personnel, and records.
That enforcement structure is a central part of the law: protections concerning food, water, health care, sanitation, and treatment are paired with mechanisms for state oversight and accountability.
Responding to Conditions Inside Immigration Detention
SB 942 was developed against a backdrop of repeated findings concerning conditions inside California immigration detention facilities.
California Department of Justice reviews have identified concerns involving medical care, basic food and water needs, hygiene, staffing, and other conditions of confinement.
For IDA, SB 942 grew from years of work focused on the treatment of people held inside private detention facilities and on the ability of California to establish meaningful health and safety standards within its borders.
As IDA Co-Executive Director Jackie Gonzalez stated during the legislative process, the legislation was intended to move beyond documenting problems by establishing enforceable standards for care and conditions.
Creating a Framework for Accountability
California does not control federal immigration custody decisions. But SB 942 establishes state-law protections governing the treatment and conditions experienced by people held in covered civil detention facilities operating within California.
Together with California’s detention inspection and public-health oversight laws, SB 942 adds another layer to the state’s detention oversight framework: clear standards defining how people in civil detention must be treated and a mechanism for enforcing those standards.
SB 942 at a Glance
Author: Senator Anna Caballero
Co-Sponsors: Immigrant Defense Advocates • California Attorney General Rob Bonta
Status: Signed into law September 29, 2026
Core Protections: Health care • Food • Water • Sanitation • Safety • Religious practice • Humane treatment
Enforcement: California Attorney General
Issue Areas: Immigration Detention • Civil Rights • Health & Safety • Detention Oversight
