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California is to ban the use of private prisons, including those under contract to the government to hold immigrants awaiting deportation hearings.

The Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said the measure will go towards fulfilling a promise he made to end private prison use, which he said contributes to over-incarceration and does "not reflect our values".

A mirror was held up to such prisons in the final series of the Netflix show Orange Is The New Black, which aired this year.

The state's prison system was already phasing them out despite having to comply with an inmate population cap imposed by federal judges.

Immigrant advocates have praised the bill which they said would put an end to almost all immigration detention in California in the next year.

However, one private prison company said it expects most, if not all of the law to fail a legal challenge.

The California-based Geo Group of Adelanto said: "States cannot lawfully pass legislation mandating the closure of federal facilities that displease them on the basis of ideological differences."

California has vigorously fought against Donald Trump's efforts to deport those who are in the country illegally and has a so-called "sanctuary state" law that restricts police from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration enforcement actions.

The new measure prohibits the state corrections department from renewing contracts starting next year and from housing any state inmates in private, for-profit prisons starting in 2028.

Democrat Rob Bonta, who drafted the bill, said: "We are sending a powerful message that we vehemently oppose the practice of profiteering off the backs of Californians in custody."

In a further blow to the president's tough stance on immigration, federal judges in three states have temporarily blocked his policy to deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps and other government benefits

The rulings in California, New York and Washington came in just four days before Mr Trump's policy was set to come into force.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the rulings were "extremely disappointing" and "the latest inexplicable example of the administration being ordered to comply with the flawed or lawless guidance of a previous administration instead of the actual laws passed by Congress".

While Mr Trump has focused much of his attention on illegal immigration - including his pledge to build a wall on the Mexican border - he has also looked at curbing legal immigration by moving away from a system that is largely based on family ties.

Last week, the president issued a presidential proclamation saying immigrants will be barred from the country unless they are covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have enough financial resources to pay for any medical costs.

The measure, which is due to take effect in November, could ban the entry of about 375,000 people a year.

The rulings on Friday put the policy to deny green cards to more immigrants on government aid on hold while lawsuits proceed.