This is Padilla’s fifth unannounced oversight visit of an ICE facility in the past month and seventh in California this year, as the Trump Administration escalates immigration enforcement operations across the state.
November 3, 2026 - MCFARLAND, CA — On Monday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Representative Jim Costa (D-Calif.-21) were denied entry to the Golden State Annex in Kern County, California, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility. Padilla and Costa attempted to exercise their congressional oversight role as the Trump Administration escalates immigration enforcement operations across the Central Valley and throughout California.
Golden State Annex is operated by the GEO Group, a for-profit private prison company. The lawmakers were turned away as Golden Annex officials claimed that ICE agents were not present on site to allow them into the facility.
“More than 60 people have now died in ICE custody since Donald Trump returned to office. That is a staggering and unacceptable loss of life, and the Trump Administration continues to refuse to answer basic questions about the conditions inside its detention facilities,” said Senator Padilla. “Today I visited the Golden Annex in McFarland to demand answers and accountability. My office continues to receive alarming reports about conditions inside these facilities and agency officials won’t even answer basic questions about whether they’re respecting due process rights and protecting the fundamental human rights of those in their custody. Their refusal to grant us access to the detention facility raises serious questions about what they’re trying to hide. Families deserve answers. The American people deserve transparency. And this Administration must be held accountable for its cruel and inhumane mass deportation agenda. I will keep showing up, demanding answers, and fighting to ensure the law is followed and people’s rights are protected.”
“Today’s visit with Senator Padilla to the Golden State Annex detention facility once again demonstrated ICE’s lack of accountability and transparency,” said Congressman Costa. “As members of Congress, we have a constitutional right to conduct oversight of these facilities and ask basic questions about the conditions, medical care, and treatment of detainees. Instead, we were denied access to basic information and given the runaround. As my district and communities across our state continue to be impacted by ICE activity, I remain committed to working alongside my colleagues to hold ICE accountable and demand transparency.”
Padilla has repeatedly conducted oversight visits to immigration detention facilities and holding centers across California to examine conditions firsthand and demand accountability from federal officials. His visits include facilities in California City, Otay Mesa, San Francisco International Airport, Downtown Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego.
Last month, Padilla demanded answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over increased immigration enforcement and resident detentions in Mendota. Padilla also urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately recall ICE officers hired during the 2025 surge period. In September, Padilla called on DHS to halt immigration enforcement activity near schools and educational institutions in San Diego County. In August, Padilla called out the Trump Administration’s continued abuses of power and inhumane treatment of detained immigrants, after sounding the alarm on the significant increase in deaths among detainees in ICE custody since January 2025.
Source: Senator Alex Padilla
