Private prison company sues California over the constitutionality of law banning their business

One of the largest private prison companies in the United States filed a lawsuit against California, alleging a new law that prohibits city, county and federal agencies from entering into contracts with the federal government to house or detain foreigners subject to deportation is unconstitutional as aimed at that particular business group.

Senate Bill 29, one of several recent laws passed by the Legislature to end private prisons in the state, was signed in October 2017 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill amended the "unlawful contracts" section title of the California Civil Code to prohibit contracts between federal agencies and city, county and local law enforcement agencies for private prisons, including restricting permits issued for immigrant detention centers, unless those contracts were effective before Jan. 1, 2018. Under the law, any contracts that expire after that date cannot be renewed or modified.

Attorneys for GEO Group Inc., Michael B. McClellan of Newmeyer & Dillion LLP, based in Newport Beach, and Charles J. Cooper of Cooper & Kirk PLLC in Washington, D.C., argued in the lawsuit, "There does not appear to be any realistic prospect that SB-29 will ever be applied to another federal contractor other than GEO, since only GEO is obligated under its current contracts with the federal government to convert buildings formerly used for other purposes into federal immigration detention facilities."

"It singles out contractors who operate federal immigration detention facilities for burdens that it refuses to impose on California's own detention facilities," the lawsuit states. "In doing so, SB-29 asserts the authority to discriminate against, and directly regulate, the federal government, flouting the Supreme Court's two-centuries-old teaching about the nature of federal-state relations under the Constitution."

SB-29, the lawsuit states, places a "specialized burden on federal activity with the obvious intent and design of delaying and thwarting federal immigration detention," citing the 2019 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, United States v. California, 921 F.3d 865, 882.

The suit argues SB-29 "builds" on two recent bills the Legislature passed aimed at phasing out private prisons. GEO and the U.S. government have challenged the constitutionality of those bills. Those suits are pending in the Southern District of California.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office could not be reached for comment on Tuesday regarding this suit, which was filed Monday in the Eastern District of California..

Based in Boca Raton, Florida, GEO operates seven private detention facilities in California, two of which are dedicated immigration detention facilities. ICE entered into new 15-year contracts with GEO in December to continue the operation of its 400-bed Mesa Verde and 1,940-bed Adelanto processing centers the week before Assembly Bill 32 took effect. These contracts expire in December 2034.

-- Tyler Pialet