Facility In California City Expected To Be State's Largest Migrant Detention Center

Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, July 2, 2025…

• A soon to be reopened private prison in California City, about two hours north of Los Angeles, is expected to be the largest immigration and detention center in California. The facility is operated by the Tennessee-based correctional company CoreCivic. But residents of California City have mixed feelings on the plan.
• With the worst of wildfire season ahead, Governor Gavin Newsom is urging President Donald Trump to increase the federal government’s investment in wildfire prevention in California. 
• The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The announcement comes almost a year later than expected.

Planned ICE Detention Center Draws Praise, Critics 

A soon to be reopened private prison in California City, about two hours north of Los Angeles, is expected to become the largest immigration and detention facility in the state. Tennessee-based prison and detention contractor CoreCivic reached an agreement with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to convert the more than 2,500 bed facility and hold immigrants arrested in ICE sweeps.

On a recent call with company investors, CoreCivic President Patrick Swindle talked about what was being done to get the California City facility ready for the arrival of undocumented immigrants. “We have begun preparations. Our facility leadership team is now in place and they are preparing the facility to receive an ICE population. We posted jobs listing for Cal City on April 7th and we received 2,500 applications already,” he said.

The detention and processing center is expected to be an important part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But residents in California City have mixed feelings about the plan. Some who support President Trump see it as a positive and a reminder of his agenda. But others feel the wrong people are being taken into custody, especially those who haven’t committed serious crimes.

California Has Invested Billions In Forest Fire Efforts. Newsom Wants The US To Follow

With the worst of wildfire season ahead, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to direct the federal government to dramatically increase its investment in forest management.

At the Mount Howell lookout tower in Colfax, Newsom spoke to reporters about a model executive order sent to the White House that he said would bring federal firefighting and forest management efforts more in line with California’s. He said the requests come at a pivotal time because of Trump’s cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and what Newsom called the “illegal federalization of California’s National Guard troops,” pulling some of them away from firefighting missions.

“The Trump administration needs to step up, and they need to fund these efforts, not just here in California, but throughout the Western United States,” Newsom said. “Lives and property are on the line.”

While California is doing its part, “the federal government is not meeting this call,” the text of the proposed order said. Over the next year, the state has allotted more than $4 billion for wildfire protection and forest resilience. In comparison, Newsom said the Trump administration has appropriated $7 billion for the entire country’s 238 million acres of federal lands in the fiscal year.

Diocese Of Fresno Files For Bankruptcy

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday.

The bankruptcy filing is in response to more than 150 claims of sexual abuse of minors filed against the diocese. The diocese initially signaled it would file for bankruptcy last August.

In a letter to parishioners, Reverend Joseph V. Brennan, Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno said “Our Church must address the suffering that victims of clergy sexual abuse endure. We know the sin; it
will always be before us,” he said.

Rick Simons is an attorney representing survivors of this alleged sexual abuse. And he said all those cases ground to a halt last year at the suggestion of bankruptcy. But they could have kept going had they known the actual filing would take so long. “During that time, these people could have brought their cases to trial. They could have had their public hearing, their day in court, they could have been able to have responsibility imposed by a jury – and they lost those rights,” Simons said. The Fresno Diocese is the fifth in Northern California to file for bankruptcy in the last year.