Temporarily Closing Downtown LA Detention Facility, Transferring 22 People to Santa Ana

ICE officials disclosed the temporary closure and transfers only after Congressman Gomez arrived for a surprise inspection of B-18

Washington, July 17, 2026


LOS ANGELES, CA — An unannounced congressional inspection by Congressman Jimmy Gomez today revealed that ICE is temporarily closing its B-18 detention facility in Downtown Los Angeles and transferring all 22 people currently detained there to a facility in Santa Ana. 

ICE officials disclosed the planned closure and transfers after Gomez arrived at B-18 without advance notice to inspect conditions inside the facility. Officials told Gomez that the facility is being temporarily closed because ICE expects demonstrations in the area this weekend. 

The closure and transfers had not been publicly announced before Gomez’s inspection. 

“The public only knows about this because we showed up unannounced and demanded answers,” said Congressman Gomez. “I sued the Trump administration to protect Congress’s right to conduct these inspections, and I won. ICE cannot operate behind closed doors, and I will keep showing up to hold them accountable.” 

Today’s disclosure demonstrates the importance of preserving Congress’s authority to conduct unannounced inspections of immigration detention facilities. After the Trump administration attempted to block Members of Congress from entering ICE facilities without advance notice, Gomez personally sued the administration and won, restoring Congress’s ability to conduct surprise oversight visits. 

Since the Trump administration began its immigration raids in Los Angeles, Gomez has repeatedly confronted ICE and worked to protect the constitutional rights of people in his district. He went directly from the airport to Chinatown during the initial raids and successfully pressed federal agents to leave the area to defuse the situation. He has also conducted repeated detention-facility inspections, trained community members to serve as legal observers, organized town halls and provided legal resources to thousands of constituents. 

Gomez also introduced the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act, legislation that would redirect the Trump administration’s $175 billion funding increase for ICE and Customs and Border Protection toward housing affordability and working families. 

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