Sen. Padilla and Rep. Costa Are Denied Entry to ICE's Golden State Annex on an Unannounced Oversight Visit

On Monday, Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Jim Costa made an unannounced visit to Golden State Annex in McFarland, California, an ICE detention facility operated by GEO Group that can hold up to 700 people, and did not get inside. They spent about 50 minutes at the facility. They said a supervisor told them ICE staff from Fresno needed to be present before access could be granted, KFSN-TV reports; the Fresno Bee reports the facility said no ICE agents were on site to let them in. ICE deportation officers are not assigned to the facility full time and visit once a week, on Tuesdays, according to ICE’s inspection report as summarized by KFSN-TV.

Padilla said the supervisor “could not point to a section of the law” barring access, and that the refusal “raises serious questions about what they’re trying to hide.” Costa said the lawmakers “were denied access to basic information and given the runaround.” Padilla says more than 60 people have died in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office, against 26 deaths ICE reported over the Biden administration’s four years.

See 2025-07-28–ice-denies-congress-detention-oversight and 2025-07-30–congress-sues-ice-detention-access.