CARLSBAD — The County of San Diego filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration after federal officials last month blocked a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
The suit names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and private prison operator CoreCivic. County leaders allege the administration failed to respond to a request to conduct a public health inspection at the facility.
The county is seeking both a preliminary and permanent injunction requiring a full inspection while the case proceeds in court.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was initially named in preliminary documents but has since been replaced in the role by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
“There is too much at stake with hundreds of people detained at Otay, so we want this to go through the legal system quickly,” said San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, who was blocked from inspecting the facility in February along with Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre despite initially being cleared by the local ICE office. “Once again, this is about the rule of law.”
County officials said detainees have reported freezing temperatures, untreated medical conditions and food unfit for human consumption at the facility, prompting requests for elected officials and public health personnel to inspect the prison.
However, the county’s public health officer was given only limited approval to view the facility last month, while a group of elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., along with Lawson-Remer and Aguirre, was denied entry.
“San Diego County has a legal and moral responsibility to protect the health of everyone within our borders, regardless of who operates the facility or who is held inside,” Aguirre said at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in San Diego. “By blocking a legitimate public health inspection, federal officials and CoreCivic are choosing secrecy over safety.
“We are filing this lawsuit because no one — not even a federal agency or a for-profit corporation — is above the law. If they have nothing to hide, they should open the doors.”
The Otay Mesa Detention Center is operated by CoreCivic under a federal contract worth roughly $269 million over the past year, according to the county. The company collects about $217 per detainee per day from taxpayers.
San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan’s inspection did not include access to medical records, confidential interviews with detainees or facility health policies, officials said.
“Time is of the essence. The complaint makes clear that the county’s inability to complete this inspection is causing ongoing and irreparable harm to the county and its residents,” said Damon Brown, San Diego County counsel.
