California has ended a tax exemption that some private immigration detention centres had used, placing a new 25 percent tax on the facilities as part of a wider effort to limit federal immigration enforcement in the state.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed 21 bills on 29 September 2026 amid an intensified federal immigration enforcement environment that included operations in Southern California and the federalisation of California National Guard personnel in June.
Revenue from the new tax will go towards immigration-related services.
Newsom said the package was intended to increase scrutiny of immigration enforcement. “California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state,” he said.
He added: “This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities.”
The measures also ban officers across California, including federal immigration agents, from using shock gloves. The devices deliver an electric shock at the push of a button, and ICE said they would help officers control detainees and protesters who were resisting.
The ban takes effect next year and expires on 1 January 2030. The state Department of Justice must complete a safety study of the devices by 1 January 2029.
Jim Cooper, the Sacramento sheriff, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, opposed the restriction. “When the federal government does something, the state Legislature wants to ban it,” he said. Cooper argued that it would make law enforcement work harder by limiting a lower-voltage alternative to tasers.
Other provisions restrict the use of flash-bang grenades and explosive breaching charges, including during immigration-enforcement activity. They also bar ICE officers found to have committed serious misconduct at work from becoming peace officers or public employees in California.
The legislation expands health, safety and oversight requirements for civil detention facilities operating in California. It also broadens public access to records from private detention facilities.
The package gives the Attorney General a stronger role in immigration-related matters and requires the development and reporting of a proposed oversight plan for private civil detention facilities. It adds planning, zoning and public-agency approval requirements intended to give the public more input on potential detention centres.
State-owned facilities will face limits on their use for immigration-enforcement staging, processing, detention or operations. Rental vehicles used by law enforcement for detention, arrest or transportation must display a temporary decal identifying the agency, subject to limited exceptions.
The bills also give individuals a route to sue federal government officials who have violated their federal constitutional rights.
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