SAN DIEGO — San Diego County plans to sue Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and private prison company CoreCivic after county leaders say the Trump administration failed to respond to a request to conduct a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
County officials say 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 granted only limited approval to view the facility last month, while a group of elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and county Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre, was denied entry.
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.
A second request to inspect the facility this Friday has gone unanswered, and after a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline passed without a response from the federal government, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors authorized county Counsel Damon Brown to file a lawsuit in federal court next week.
“California law gives our counties the authority to inspect facilities like Otay Mesa for a reason,” Lawson-Remer said in a statement.
“Diseases don’t stop at locked gates. Staff go home to their families every day, and what happens inside that facility affects the health of our entire community.
“When there are reports of unsafe conditions, the county has a duty to investigate. And if the federal government refuses to allow that inspection, a court will enforce the law.”
