Justice
In California’s biggest cities, Turner’s Outdoorsman is a top source of crime guns
A new report from the California Department of Justice adds to concerning pattern documented in previous reporting by The Trace.
Kern County
Justice
She pleaded guilty to a drug charge. Then she visited Mexico not knowing she couldn’t return
The California Supreme Court threw out a guilty plea from a woman who did not understand that a conviction would jeopardize her immigration status.
Environment
An oil field became California’s first carbon vault. Who’s responsible if something goes wrong?
California’s first commercial carbon-storage project is operating even though the state has yet to adopt rules required by law, 19 months after a key deadline.
Justice
A judge sent a doctor to evaluate California’s largest ICE detention center. What he found
Immigration and Customs Enforcement quickly opened a new detention center in a former California state prison last year. Detainees now are suing over their access to healthcare.
Justice
What the sale of 2 ICE detention centers reveals about Trump’s new immigration strategy
The Trump administration is trying to lock down immigration detention capacity in California despite opposition from the state's Democratic leaders.
Justice
ICE detention center to pay $100K settlement in landmark California case
Immigrant detainees work for $1 a day inside a Geo Group facility in the San Joaquin Valley. The company settled a state complaint over conditions inside.
Justice
Private prison company sells two of California’s immigrant detention centers to the feds
Private prison company CoreCivic will continue operating two large ICE detention centers in California after selling the properties to the Department of Homeland Security.
Justice
Six people died in California ICE detention centers as Trump deportations soared
The Trump administration immigration crackdown swelled the population inside California's immigrant detention centers. State investigators in a report described strained medical resources inside the sites.
Justice
ICE quietly opens another detention center in a former California prison
California now has eight ICE detention centers. Two opened since President Trump took office in 2025, with both operating in former state prisons.
Politics
‘Valleycrat’ or Mamdani wannabe?: California Democrats are split on how to win swing votes
After 2024 losses, Democrats split on strategy: move to the middle or embrace economic populism. A Central Valley congressional race encapsulates the divide.