A California Senate committee is reviewing whether an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Imperial County should be receiving special property tax breaks meant for charities.
The lawmakers’ inquiry came after a KPBS investigation last week found the Imperial Regional Detention Facility’s owner, a local nonprofit called the Brawley Community Foundation, has avoided paying millions in property taxes through a state credit called the Welfare Exemption.
In a statement to KPBS, Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee Chair Jerry McNerney said the Imperial County Assessor’s office appeared to have “misapplied state law” in signing off on the exemption.
“A privately run ICE detention center is not a charity,” wrote McNerney, a Democratic Senator from Stockton. “It should not be receiving tax breaks afforded to legitimate California charities.”
McNerney said his committee was examining the arrangement. He also urged the California Board of Equalization to review the foundation’s application. The board oversees the state’s property taxes and has joint authority over the Welfare Exemption.
In a statement to KPBS, Imperial County Assistant Assessor Jack Dunnam defended the office’s decision-making process. He said they had sought guidance from the board and had taken steps to review the foundation’s claims every year.
But Dunnam said they were going to take a closer look at the foundation’s application.
“The Imperial County Assessor has requested a meeting with our County Counsel to discuss this issue, and we are preparing a request for a legal review of the IVGC property and their welfare exemption application,” Dunnam wrote.
John Taylor, a spokesperson for the Board of Equalization, said the agency conducts thorough reviews of every application. But he said county assessors have the final say over whether to issue the tax breaks.
“The authority to grant or deny a property tax exemption rests with the County Assessor on an annual basis,” Taylor told KPBS over email.
The lawmaker’s inquiry comes as more California legislators have proposed cracking down on federal detention centers — including by imposing new taxes on ICE’s for-profit contractors — in response to the Trump administration’s deadly mass deportation campaign.
None of Imperial County’s five supervisors responded to emails requesting comment on McNerney's remarks.
But a current candidate for supervisor told KPBS the lawmaker’s comments highlighted “a deeply concerning disconnect” between state law and local enforcement.
“Sen. McNerney’s assessment that the Assessor’s Office may have misapplied the law is a serious charge,” wrote Enrique Alvarado, an investigator with the Imperial County Public Defender’s office. “I will advocate for a complete forensic audit of all such exemptions to ensure, as in this case, that our tax code supports charities, not private contractors.”
Alvarado, a registered Republican, is currently running against Democratic incumbent Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar to represent the southeastern reaches of the county.
Alvarado previously told KPBS he would also support directing county health officials to conduct regular, unannounced inspections of the detention center.
