Monterey County's 45-day ban on new detention facilities gained a statewide backstop on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1367 that day, barring every California city and county from approving new private detention facilities starting Jan. 1, 2027. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 at the same meeting to impose its own moratorium on detention centers in unincorporated county land.

State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, a Riverside Democrat who introduced SB 1367 in April, said in a statement that the bill prevents private prison companies from abusing California's land-use laws to enable what she called human rights violations.

Newsom signed the bill as part of a 21-bill immigration package. He flagged a concern in his signing message, writing that the bill's definition of "detention facility" could capture community-based programs that serve as alternatives to juvenile halls and probation camps.

He urged the Legislature to monitor implementation and adopt clarifying language if needed.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office was the only agency to oppose the bill, according to KAZU. ICE operates eight private detention facilities in California and has purchased dozens of warehouses nationwide to expand its detention capacity.

What the county did

As we reported Thursday, Oct. 1, supervisors approved two measures at their Sept. 29 meeting in Salinas.

Ordinance 26-015 imposes a 45-day moratorium on the siting, construction, conversion or operation of new or expanded detention and correctional facilities in unincorporated Monterey County. Resolution 26-145 bans the use of county property for civil immigration enforcement, with exceptions for criminal warrants and existing leases.

Supervisors Luis Alejo and Chris Lopez introduced the moratorium. No immigration detention facilities exist in Monterey County.

The county's three correctional facilities are Salinas Valley State Prison and Correctional Training Facility in Soledad and Monterey County Jail in Salinas, according to Monterey County Now. None sit on unincorporated county land.

Supervisor Wendy Root-Askew said at the Sept. 29 meeting, as the Monterey Herald reported, "I really don't think we should be waiting until detention facilities are proposed here in Monterey County to decide what our standards are."

Broader context

The Sept. 29 votes are the latest in a series of steps by the board to distance the county from federal immigration enforcement.

In July 2026, supervisors ended the Department of Homeland Security's special access to local jail inmate data, forgoing more than $1 million a year in federal funding, according to Voices of Monterey Bay.

On May 19, the board voted to oppose a proposed ICE detention center near Gilroy. The county later led 25 other local governments in filing an amicus brief in federal court, according to KSBW. That Gilroy site sits less than 20 miles from Aromas at the county's northern tip.

Monterey County joins Watsonville and Santa Cruz County in banning ICE from using local facilities, KSBW reported.

The 45-day moratorium expires around mid-November. Supervisors can vote to extend it, but no extension date has been scheduled.