Shortly, Gov. @GavinNewsom and @CACorrections will announce that they ended two private prison contracts ahead of schedule and claim victory against mass incarceration.

It's not just a hollow gesture. They just ensured massive expansion of ICE's deportation machine. Thread: (1/)

Last year, AB 32 passed requiring CDCR to phase out private prison contracts by 2028 and prohibited new ICE contracts after January 2020.

Before AB 32 took effect, ICE entered into 15 year contracts for its existing facilities and also curiously 2 private CDCR facilities. (2/)

While Newsom took a victory lap, CDCR rushed to empty the prisons so that they could be turned over to ICE. If CDCR had waited, GEO would not have been able to rent the facilities to ICE.

Instead, @GavinNewsom chose to do ICE and private prison corporations a HUGE favor. (3/)

This week, CDCR finished emptying private prisons in McFarland and Adelanto nearly 8 years ahead of schedule. ICE plans to reopen the prisons as detention centers soon. It's the single biggest expansion of ICE detention in California history. (4/)

Meanwhile, California prisons remain horrifically overcrowded during a pandemic. If Newsom wasn't going to release people, the next best thing he could do is to use the space to allow people to socially distance.

But helping ICE and GEO took priority over people's lives. (5/)

For all of his criticism of ICE, Newsom continues to help fill detention centers by turning people in prison over to ICE and just helped them open multiple massive detention centers.

It's critical we hold him accountable and don't allow him to claim empty victories.