County plans to sue DHS, ICE over access to Otay Mesa Detention Center

San Diego County plans to file a lawsuit next Tuesday against the federal government and the private company that owns and operates the Otay Mesa detention facility over denials of public health inspections at the site.

The move follows authorization from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors linked to a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline for the Trump Administration to respond to the county’s request to be allowed to conduct a full inspection of the center on Friday. 

The administration did not respond, according to a joint news release from the board’s chair, Terra Lawson-Remer, and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre.

The case, should it proceed, will target the Department of Homeland Security, the agency’s secretary Kristi Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic — the Tennessee-based prison company that operates the Otay Mesa detention facility.

The county’s approach will remain “respectful of our constitutional boundaries,” said County Counsel Damon Brown. “But we will defend San Diego County’s lawful authority to conduct health and sanitation inspections pursuant to this statute and establish public health standards.”

The county may conduct public health inspections of facilities like the Otay Mesa Detention Center under state law. Friday would be the second time local officials have attempted to do so in the past two weeks.

In a letter sent Tuesday to ICE, Public Health Officer, Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan followed up on the county’s request to complete a Feb. 20 inspection of the Otay Mesa facility that was cut short. He informed ICE that the county intended to finish the inspection on Friday and requested confirmation that his team would receive full access.

The county, Lawson-Remer and Aguirre said, also provided information requested by ICE last week. “We responded to your questions six days ago,” Thihalolipavan wrote, “and anticipated that approval would have been granted by now.

“If we do not receive the necessary clearances and confirmation … we will construe the agency’s inaction or refusal as a denial of our right to complete an inspection under Health and Safety Code 101045 and will take appropriate steps to enforce our rights under the statute,” Thihalolipavan wrote.

The county had sought to inspect the facility based on reports from detainees who said they had been exposed to freezing temperatures and given food unfit for human consumption, while suffering from untreated medical conditions.

Prior to the original Feb. 20 inspection, Lawson-Remer and Aguirre said, the county gave the appropriate parties more than a week’s notice, and ICE officials confirmed in writing that they had been cleared to enter the facility with the county’s inspection team.

Instead, they said, Thihalolipavan was permitted only limited access, to a kitchen and two medical bays. He was not allowed to review medical records, confidential interviews with detainees or facility health policies.

Center officials also told Lawson-Remer and Aguirre, the supervisors said, that national ICE leadership had reversed course and decided to deny them entry. On-site authorities, they claim, also threatened to call in sheriff’s deputies if they did not agree to leave.

By denying the inspection team full access, Aguirre said, “the Trump Administration has sent a clear message: the private contracts at Otay Mesa outweigh transparency and basic human dignity.” 

Lawson-Remer said that “when there are reports of unsafe conditions, the county has a duty to investigate.”

She added, “And if the federal government refuses to allow that inspection, a court will enforce the law.”