SAN DIEGO (CN) - Public officials will be able to perform health and safety inspections at a privately operated federal immigration detention facility near the U.S.-Mexican border, after a federal judge sided with San Diego County on Wednesday.
County officials hailed the ruling as a historic victory against the Trump administration that will provide a roadmap for health officials to seek access to immigrant detention centers across California.
The county sued the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the company that runs the Otay Mesa Detention Facility, CoreCivic, earlier this year after the defendants denied county health officials the ability to inspect the facility.
In its complaint, the county says it received clearance to complete the inspection in February 2026 but was later prevented from gaining complete access to the facility and conducting the inspection according to county standards.
"San Diego County has set the gold standard for the rest of the state with this win," San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said in a press release. "It's an enormous victory for immigrant rights and for the 1,400 detainees at Otay Mesa Detention Center and thousands of other detained immigrants throughout the state of California."
U.S. District Judge James Simmons, a Joe Biden appointee, granted the county's motion that seeks to block the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to prevent the health inspection.
The defendants are required to allow a health and safety inspection within two weeks, or by June 17, he ordered.
"By standing up to ICE's efforts to block oversight, San Diego County has created a pathway for meaningful inspections throughout California," said Lawson-Remer, who led the county to file the lawsuit along with Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre. "This ruling sends a powerful message to the Trump Administration that accountability matters and that the health and well-being of detained immigrants cannot be ignored."
Aguirre said the case is fundamentally about accountability.
"We are glad that our county staff will still be able to conduct these inspections and exercise our legal right," she said. "We have a duty to oversee what happens within our borders and ensure that every individual is being treated humanely, safely, and with dignity. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold those in charge accountable. This is a win for California."
The county will have a full day to complete the inspection.
"Defendants shall provide access to the facility sufficient for plaintiff to perform the health and safety inspection according to the minimum standards and requirements prescribed by the Board of State and Community Corrections for the feeding, clothing, and care of prisoners in local jails and detention facilities, as outlined in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations," Simmons ruled.
Critically, the defendants are barred from preventing the county's health inspection team from speaking with any of the detainees or communicating with them in writing, Simmons ruled.
"Defendants' actions to facilitate detainee interviews (including the timing, placement and languages of the sign-up sheets, as well as providing a detainee roster) shall meet or exceed the actions Defendants have taken to facilitate California Department of Justice detainee interviews conducted pursuant to Assembly Bill 103," Simmons wrote. "Defendants shall not retaliate against any person for executing a waiver or for communicating with the inspection team."
Simmons also ordered the defendants to provide access to the facility's health inspection checklists regarding the jail environment, nutrition, and medical and mental health facilities. This includes access to the facility's medical, housing and food preparation areas.
The health inspection team will also be allowed access to detainee medical records required to complete their checklist.
Up to four members of the team may be permitted in the facility, including County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan and a representative from the county's Department of Environmental Health and Quality.
ICE initially told the county it lacked funding to complete an inspection, according to court documents. However, Thihalolipavan said this was not a valid excuse, and the county's inspections would come at no cost to the Department of Homeland Security.
"It is undisputed that inspections are required in order to report on the health and sanitary conditions inside facilities, and that inspections have identified minor and major opportunities for improvement that have been addressed to better serve those who are detained," the county argued in its motion for preliminary injunction. "Given the ongoing concerns about detainee health issues at the facility, the strong public interest in immediately enjoining defendants from blocking the statutorily-authorized inspection of their facility is beyond dispute."
The Otay Mesa Detention Facility is one of eight detention centers operated by DHS and ICE. CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based company, runs dozens of private prisons across the country, as well as 10 immigration detention facilities, primarily in Texas, California and Arizona.
Spokespersons from CoreCivic and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
Source: Courthouse News Service
