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Before his detention by federal immigration authorities in May 2024, Fernando Arciniega was the main provider for his family, taking pride in caring for his 17-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son.
Now, he often relies on family members for funds to buy essentials like food from the commissary at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Southern California.
“It’s difficult for me to ask for help from the family I normally support,” Arciniega shared. “There have been times when I had to request $10 from my own daughter.”
Through the federal Voluntary Work Program, Arciniega earns just $1 a day for cleaning dorms and performing other tasks, which is far from enough to cover commissary purchases. Although the facility provides daily meals, Arciniega noted he needs to buy additional food from the commissary to stay properly nourished.
“The portions we receive here feel almost juvenile,” he said, explaining that detainees must buy commissary items “just to stay fed throughout the day.”
Arciniega often has to make tough choices between buying food, hygiene products, or making phone calls to his family.
Some potential relief could come for him and other detainees in California. State Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, has proposed a bill aimed at reducing price gouging in private detention facilities, where commissary items can exceed double their retail prices. This situation led detainees at two California facilities to initiate a boycott earlier this month, spotlighting exorbitant prices on commissary goods, such as an 8-ounce container of Folgers Crystals coffee priced at nearly $20—more than double its cost at Walmart and Target.
California hosts eight privately operated immigration detention centers that function under contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The commissaries in these facilities are generally supplied by third-party vendors contracted by the operators. Senate Bill 941, which passed the Senate with a 38-0 vote in May, garnered bipartisan support.
“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue—profiteering from detainees affects everyone,” stated Cameron Sutherland, communications director for Padilla, predicting that the bill will pass the Assembly and be signed into law before the legislative session concludes on August 31.
The proposed legislation builds upon a 2023 law that limits California state prisons from marking up commissary items by more than 35% above vendor costs. SB 941 would extend similar price controls to detention center commissaries.
Priya Patel, an immigration attorney with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, characterized the bill as a “good start” but aspires to “dismantle ICE detention” or, at the very least, “prevent it from becoming a profit-driven industry.”
Detainee Guillermo Medina Reyes from the California City Detention Facility in Kern County noted that high commissary prices further burden an already stressed community.
“This is one of the most challenging situations people will face in their lives,” said Medina Reyes, attributing high commissary prices to CoreCivic, the for-profit company managing the Central Valley detention center. He accused the operator of “squeezing every last bit of money” from detainees, adding that it’s a clear case of exploitation.
Ryan Gustin, CoreCivic’s public affairs director, asserted that the company aims to set fair prices.
“We continuously work with our outside commissary vendor and government partners to ensure pricing for commissary items is reasonable,” he stated.
Gustin mentioned that the facility allocates commissary revenue to a “detainee welfare fund” used for items that benefit detainees, like electronics, recreational, or educational supplies.
However, Medina Reyes claimed that detainees at California City see little benefit from this fund.
“We don’t really understand where the money is going,” he expressed. “It’s definitely not showing in food, clothing, hygiene products, or recreational equipment; we lack even basic recreation supplies.”
Recently, CoreCivic sold the California City Detention Facility and Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security but expects to continue operating these centers under pre-existing contracts.
The California City Detention Facility is the state’s largest immigration detention center, housing over 1,600 detainees in May. In November 2025, detainees filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming subpar living conditions at the facility.
The lawsuit also pointed to insufficient food and essential supplies, forcing detainees to depend heavily on the commissary.
“Basic items that we require daily, such as toothpaste and soap, are exorbitantly priced,” Medina Reyes noted.
He added that detainees receive limited hygiene items, distributed only as inventory allows. The facility provides travel-sized deodorant and shampoo, a small toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as soap and toilet paper, with all other necessities needing to be purchased from the commissary.
In a conversation with Capital & Main in mid-June, Medina Reyes listed some commissary prices: $6.38 for a 3-ounce Speed Stick deodorant, $20 for a 40-count box of tampons, and $18.80 for an 8-ounce jar of Folgers Crystals instant coffee. Detainees interviewed by the Los Angeles Times earlier reported similar high prices.
In comparison, prices for these items on Walmart’s website are significantly lower. A 3-ounce Speed Stick costs $2.47, a 40-count box of generic tampons is $6.28, and an 8-ounce jar of Folgers Crystals instant coffee is $9.79.
After detainees raised concerns about price hikes instituted in mid-May with California City’s detention staff, Medina Reyes recounted they were told CoreCivic was simply reflecting prices set by Keefe Commissary Network, a vendor providing commissary products and tech services to detention and prison facilities nationwide.
Keefe has contracts with CoreCivic and Florida’s GEO Group, another large private prison operator, for commissary operations. CoreCivic’s Gustin did not confirm if Keefe supplies the California City Detention Center’s commissary.
Keefe did not respond to Capital & Main’s request for comment.
Arciniega reported that Keefe Group manages the commissary at Imperial Regional Detention Facility, where price hikes often occur without advance notice.
“No explanation is provided,” he lamented. “Sometimes they just change the (product) list on the wall, and we notice different prices.”
Imperial Regional Detention Facility is owned by Management and Training Corporation, a private prison contractor based in Utah. Emily Lawhead, the company’s communication director, declined to comment to Capital & Main, directing inquiries to ICE.
Regarding how commissary prices are determined at ICE detention centers, Sandra Grisolia, an ICE spokesperson, stated via email: “We collaborate with all our vendors to ensure pricing aligns with comparable local retailers, like convenience stores.”
Grisolia further mentioned that “being in detention is a choice,” adding that ICE is offering detainees $2,600 to “self-deport.”
On July 1, hundreds of detainees at California City and Golden State Annex in McFarland announced an open-ended boycott of their commissaries to protest alleged price gouging. Golden State Annex is managed by GEO Group.
“Their aim is to maintain the boycott to signal to both GEO and CoreCivic,” voiced Valeria Suarez, a lawyer with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.
Responding to the claims from boycotters, GEO Group’s spokesperson Christopher Ferreira sent an email statement almost identical to ICE’s: “Commissary services at ICE Processing Centers are managed by a third-party vendor, and we collaborate with all our vendors to ensure pricing reflects that of comparable local retailers, including convenience stores.”
Meanwhile, detainees and their advocates remain hopeful that SB 941 can help control the exorbitant prices at detention center commissaries.
“I genuinely hope it passes,” Arciniega remarked. “It’s a major burden on us, compounding an already difficult situation.”
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