San Diego County has begun the public health inspection process at the Otay Mesa Detention Center following reports of concerning conditions inside the privately operated immigration facility.
San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer directed staff to assert the county’s authority after detainees reportedly threw lotion bottles wrapped with handwritten notes over the facility’s fence, alleging cold temperatures, inadequate medical care and poor-quality food.
“When people detained in a facility are reduced to throwing handwritten messages over a fence to be heard, that is a public health emergency signal,” Lawson-Remer said. “The county is exercising its lawful authority to inspect conditions inside Otay Mesa because silence and secrecy are not acceptable when health and safety are at stake.”
Last Friday, U.S. Representative Juan Vargas attempted an unannounced visit to the facility in response to the same complaints, but was denied entry for the first time, according to media reports.
Under California Health and Safety Code, counties may lawfully inspect detention facilities operating within their borders when public health is at issue, including facilities run by private contractors on behalf of federal agencies. The Otay Mesa Detention Center is managed by CoreCivic.
The county review will include sanitation practices, access to medical care, temperature control, food safety and compliance with health standards, according to Lawson-Remer’s office. The board chair plans to accompany the county’s public health officer during the visit.
“This inspection will document the reality inside the facility,” Lawson-Remer said. “If conditions meet public health standards, the public deserves to know that. If they don’t, the county will act to protect human health.”
The examination comes amid nationwide attention on detention conditions, including rising deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and federal restrictions on independent oversight.
