California governor signs ban on private prisons, setting up fight with Trump
Lawmakers seek to protect prisoners and detained immigrants but private prison company expects courts to strike down measure
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed into law on Friday a statewide ban on private prisons, in a move likely to set off another legal battle between the Trump administration and California.
The new law prohibits California’s prison authority from contracting with private companies to jail criminal detainees and requires the state to phase out existing contracts by 2028. The ban also applies to companies that hold immigrant detainees for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.