In Reply to: Trump's war keeps escalating. posted by mh on July 17, 2026 at 10:07:12
Immigrant detainees say they pay $20 for tampons and nearly $19 for instant coffee while earning only $1 per day through a federal work program.
Before Fernando Arciniega was detained by federal immigration agents in May 2024, he was the breadwinner of his household. Providing for his daughter, 17, and son, 12, was something he took pride in.
Now, Arciniega often finds himself relying on family for money to purchase food and other basic necessities from the commissary at Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Southern California.
“It’s hard for me to reach out to the family I’m used to supporting,” he said. “There’s been times I had to ask my own daughter for $10.”
Under the federal Voluntary Work Program, Arcienega makes just $1 per day cleaning dorms and doing work around the facility, meaning his wage alone isn’t nearly enough to purchase necessities from the commissary. While the facility provides daily meals, Arcienega said he has to supplement them with food purchased from the commissary to stay nourished.
“We’re given such childlike portions of food here,” he said, adding that detainees are forced to buy commissary items “just to keep ourselves fed throughout the day.”
Arcienega said he often has to choose between purchasing food, hygiene products or making calls to his loved ones.
Some relief for Arcienega and other California detainees may be on the horizon. State Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) has introduced a bill that is aimed at curtailing price gouging at private detention facilities, whose commissaries sell products that can cost more than twice as much as they do in retail stores. The high prices prompted detainees at two California facilities to launch a boycott earlier this month in an effort to call attention to the eye-popping price tags on commissary items, including an eight-ounce container of Folgers Crystals coffee selling for almost $20, more than double what it costs at Walmart and Target.
There are eight privately owned immigration detention centers in California that operate under contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The commissaries at these facilities are typically supplied by third party vendors under contract to the operator. Senate Bill 941, which passed the Senate by a 38 to 0 vote in May, drew support from both sides of the aisle.