Over eight years, more than 50,000 people in Kern County pled guilty to misdemeanors without lawyers at their first court appearance as a result of a plea mill system.

Black and Brown people, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with limited English proficiency are particularly impacted by a plea mill intent on ensuring swift convictions at the expense of individual constitutional rights. 

On April 27, 2023, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Californians sued the state prison system for illegally discriminating against people suspected of being born outside the U.S. According to internal documents and policies from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the testimony of incarcerated people directly impacted by those policies, CDCR refers hundreds of people in its custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detention and deportation each year.