Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday that will make it easier for journalists across California to report on and investigate what’s happening inside immigration detention centers.
Senate Bill 423 will require local agencies in California to release audio recordings and written reports related to 911 calls for incidents at privately run immigration detention centers.
The bill was co-sponsored by the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit press freedom organization, and Immigrant Defense Advocates, a policy project.
Ginny LaRoe, First Amendment Coalition’s director, said in an email after the bill’s passage that investigations by inewsource, San Francisco Chronicle, the Southern California News Group and others “continue to show why we need more transparency over this notoriously opaque system.”
inewsource reporting from earlier this year relied on 911 call data to the Otay Mesa Detention Center to investigate medical issues among immigrants there.
The bill was authored in response to a public records request by the news outlet CalMatters for 911 calls to the Otay Mesa Detention Center that was denied earlier this year, LaRoe said.
Newsom also signed bills to implement a 25% tax on private detention centers, restrict the use of state-owned facilities for immigration enforcement and prevent immigration officers with serious misconduct records from becoming peace officers or public employees in California.
“We may not be able to dictate federal immigration enforcement policy but we can make clear that activities taking place in California will be subject to California law,” Newsom said in a video announcing several new immigration related laws.
The new 911 call law will go into effect in January.