State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Co-Sponsors Bill Targeting Corporations Profiting Off the Mistreatment of California’s Immigrant Students and Families in ICE-Funded Detention Centers

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced his co-sponsorship of Assembly Bill (AB) 1633 , legislation that confronts the injustice of for-profit immigrant detention by holding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-funded private detention corporations accountable, taxing their profits at a rate of 50 percent, and reinvesting that revenue into vital immigration-related services. This landmark legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, was introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Gardena).

“Private corporations should not be allowed to profit off the mass detention of our neighbors, which is traumatizing whole communities and causing our students mental and emotional distress. This undermines the all-important work underway to close achievement gaps and support student learning. We must make every effort to make sure that our students have healthy, safe environments in which they can thrive,” Superintendent Thurmond said. “That’s why I’m proud to be a co-sponsor of AB 1633, to impose a tax on private detention centers and hold these corporations accountable. This bill would not only discourage bad actions by corporations; it would put resources back into our schools and communities to offset the harm done to California families.”

California is home to seven ICE-funded private immigration detention facilities operated by for-profit corporations with a documented record of unsafe and inhumane conditions, including substandard medical care and repeated health and safety violations. These concerns were recently confirmed by inspections conducted by the California Department of Justice. Following an inspection of a newly opened, privately operated ICE detention facility in Kern County—the largest in the state—the California Department of Justice found “dangerous living conditions” and a “lack of adequate medical care,” citing too few physicians, insufficient hygiene supplies, and inadequate access to food and water.

A longtime advocate for immigrant students and families, Superintendent Thurmond’s sponsorship of AB 1633 comes after the signing of AB 49 (Muratsuchi) and Senate Bill 98 (Perez) into law last year by Governor Newsom. These two bills, co-sponsored by Superintendent Thurmond, seek to keep immigration enforcement off of school campuses and ensure appropriate family notification if immigration agents are present at a school site.

To support the implementation of these laws, the California Department of Education (CDE) published Our Schools: Resources for Including Immigrant Families, a new toolkit of family-facing posters and informational cards that communicate assurance of all schools’ obligation to provide every child with access to education and a safe learning environment regardless of immigration status, as protected by law.

As a result of the new legislation, all local educational agencies (LEAs) are also now required to make local policies regarding immigration enforcement available to the CDE. LEAs must make these policies available to the CDE by March 1, 2026, which is the deadline when LEAs are required to have updated local policies in alignment with guidance from the Attorney General.

For more information on resources to include immigrant families and their students in California schools, please visit the CDE Including Immigrant Families web page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100