June 4, 2026 - SACRAMENTO – On Wednesday, Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced language to 
amend Senate Bill 420 (language attached), ensuring organizations tied to private immigration detention centers cannot claim charitable tax status solely because they are organized as nonprofits. SB 420 Language.pdf
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The California Welfare Exemption serves as a property tax relief program for nonprofit organizations that conduct charitable activity and benefit the public. For years, nonprofits have been supported through this exemption for the valuable work they do in local communities. Unfortunately, a recent KPBS investigation revealed that the Brawley Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that owns an ICE detention facility in Imperial County, avoided paying at least $6 million in property taxes through California’s “Welfare Exemption.” This exemption is meant for charitable nonprofits, but in this case provided a taxpayer subsidy to a for-profit corporation engaged in mass deportation.
Although the foundation claims to support community development, create jobs in a high-unemployment region, and reduce strain on government agencies, much of its activity and revenue are connected to the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, which is operated for profit by a private prison contractor. It has been reported that this facility operates with poor conditions, solitary confinement, inadequate medical care, and deaths in custody, including two individuals who died after not receiving proper medical attention. Subsidizing these facilities with charitable tax exemptions at the expense of local schools and local services is a gross abuse of the tax code.
“Californians should not be forced to subsidize private immigration detention centers through tax breaks intended for true charitable organizations. Recent news in my district uncovered a deeply troubling loophole that allows organizations tied to detention and deportation to benefit from public subsidies while vulnerable people suffer in unsafe conditions,” said Senator Padilla. “This measure closes that loophole and ensures our tax laws reflect California’s values, not the interests of private detention profiteers.”
SB 420 closes the loophole in California’s Revenue and Taxation Code by preventing organizations connected to immigration detention or deportation efforts from qualifying for charitable property tax exemptions in the future. Specifically, the bill clarifies that a property is not considered exempt when it is used exclusively for charitable, religious, hospital, or scientific purposes and any part of it operates as a detention center run by a for-profit company.
By doing so, SB 420 ensures that organizations tied to private immigration detention centers cannot claim charitable tax status solely because they are organized as nonprofits. Without reform, taxpayers may continue indirectly subsidizing ICE detention facilities through reduced property taxes. The bill protects taxpayers from indirectly subsidizing ICE detention operations and aligns California’s tax policies with the state’s broader opposition to private detention centers and harmful deportation practices.
SB 420 will be heard in the Legislature in the coming months.
Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/
Source: Senator Steve Padilla
