Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (File Photo – SashaReneePerezOfficial)
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) expressed disappointment after the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted to kill SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act, legislation that would have provided health and safety oversight of privately operated immigration detention facilities.
By News Desk
“I’m deeply disappointed by the Assembly’s action to kill SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act, in committee today,” Pérez said. She pointed to reports from across the country describing inadequate standards of care at immigration detention facilities, including conditions that have resulted in deaths, as well as reports from the California Attorney General detailing shortcomings at the facilities.
Pérez said the bill was intended to address gaps in existing protections, arguing that current contractual obligations and regulatory requirements have not provided adequate safeguards for people held in privately operated facilities.
“California has seen a record six deaths across privately operated detention facilities since last year,” Pérez said. “If cost was the reason this legislation was killed, then I would ask: What is the dollar figure at which protecting human life becomes too expensive?”
According to Pérez, SB 995 received unanimous bipartisan support in the California Senate and did not receive a no vote in either the Assembly or Senate. She also said the legislation was supported by more than 50 civil rights and public advocacy organizations.
“Who said no?” Pérez asked.
Riya Khan, daughter of Masuma Khan, also expressed disappointment following the committee vote and thanked Pérez and her team for their work on the legislation.
“We cannot forget the lives lost because protections like these were not in place,” Khan said. “This may be a setback, but their lives and the need for change deserve to be remembered and honored.”
Shakeel Syed, executive director of the South Asian Network and a co-sponsor of SB 995, said the legislation could have prevented deaths and suicides in ICE custody.
“Had there been a law in place like SB 995, an overwhelming number of deaths and suicides in ICE custody would not have happened,” Syed said. “The Assembly Appropriations Committee should have supported SB 995 and saved lives.”
Ritu Mahajan Estes, of Public Counsel and a co-sponsor of SB 995, said the bill’s failure would not diminish the need for changes to health and safety oversight.
“This bill was named for Masuma Khan because her story — and the stories of so many others held in unsafe, unaccountable facilities — demanded real systemic change,” Mahajan Estes said. “That need hasn’t gone away because this bill didn’t pass. If anything, it’s more urgent.”
Mahajan Estes said supporters would continue pursuing protections in Sacramento, in the courts and elsewhere people are being held without basic health and safety oversight.
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