Federal Authorities Expand L.A. Immigration Detention Center

LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities reached an agreement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to add 400 beds to the Mira Loma Detention Center.


The expansion would make Mira Loma, located 70 miles north of Los Angeles in Lancaster, the largest immigration detention facility in California, officials say.


Part of a former World War II complex, the facility houses 1,000 detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


The number of detainees and demand for detention space in the Los Angeles area has grown in lockstep with ICE’s intensified immigration violations enforcement in the region.


The need for additional immigration detention beds in the region was exacerbated when ICE closed the San Pedro detention center in Los Angeles for maintenance and repairs. The more than 400 detainees housed in the detention center prior to its closure were transferred to other facilities in Arizona, California, Texas and Washington, officials say.


Federal authorities amended the existing contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to expand capacity. The county Board of Supervisors later approved the deal.