Last week, Public Counsel joined legislators, advocates, and community partners to announce SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act. This new legislation, introduced by State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, is designed to strengthen California’s oversight of private immigration detention facilities.
The bill is named in honor of Masuma Khan, a 64-year-old wife, mother, and pillar of her Altadena community, who was detained by ICE last fall despite having no criminal record. During her detention she was denied life-sustaining medications and medical care, adequate food, and appropriate clothing. Working alongside her family and our legal partners, Public Counsel acted quickly to secure Masuma’s release.
Ms. Khan’s experience was not an isolated incident. Across California, detainees have reported serious deficiencies in medical care, safety protocols, and access to basic necessities. SB 995 would help address these conditions by strengthening the state’s authority to inspect detention facilities, impose fines for violations, and suspend or revoke permits when facilities fail to meet health, safety, and labor standards.
At the press conference, Public Counsel President & CEO Kathryn Eidmann underscored why this legislation matters: Public Counsel fights every day for people inside detention facilities who are suffering severe harm and often have no other recourse—but we should not have to file lawsuit after lawsuit just to ensure basic human rights are upheld. Accountability should be the rule, not the exception.
Public Counsel is proud to co-sponsor this legislation alongside MALDEF, CHIRLA, and the South Asian Network. Our advocacy for SB 995 builds on our ongoing legal work challenging abusive conditions inside detention facilities across the region, including the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and B-18, a holding site in the basement of the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.
Through impact litigation and policy advocacy, we are working to ensure that people held in detention are treated with dignity and their rights are respected. Read the full SB 995 press release here.
