Advocates and families campaign against ban on contact visits at California ICE facility

The short version

• Detained people, families, and advocacy groups have launched the 'Hugs Beyond Bars' campaign opposing a strict non-contact visitation policy at the California City immigration detention center.
• The roughly 1,600 people held at the facility, run by private prison operator CoreCivic, are separated from visitors by glass barriers and must communicate using phones.
• CoreCivic maintains the policy is necessary for security and contraband prevention, while a state audit noted available space exists that could accommodate physical visits.
• Advocates have appealed to federal lawmakers, but facility management and ICE have not altered the policy.

Key facts

• The California City detention center, California's largest ICE facility housing approximately 1,600 people, has banned contact visits since it opened in August 2025.[The Guardian]
• Visitors and detainees at the facility are separated by thick glass barriers and communicate over phones.[The Guardian]
• Detained individuals and advocacy organizations, including the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, launched the 'Hugs Beyond Bars' campaign to demand physical visitation.[The Guardian]
• A spring audit by the California Department of Justice determined the contact ban appeared to conflict with CoreCivic's own policy document, noting that physical space with picnic tables exists in the facility.[The Guardian]
• CoreCivic stated that facility leadership and government partners established the non-contact policy due to safety considerations and the prevention of contraband.[The Guardian]
• ICE did not provide comment on the California City visitation policy.[The Guardian]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• ICE bans hugging inside California’s largest detention center. Families are fighting backThe Guardian - US