A federal judge has ordered the Otay Mesa Detention Center to allow San Diego County health inspectors into the facility, siding with local officials in an ongoing dispute with the federal government over oversight of immigration detention sites.
The order, issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge James Simmons Jr. of the Southern District of California, requires the privately run detention center to permit an inspection of the 1,400-bed facility. The ruling could shape how counties across California use a new state law that gives local governments additional authority to inspect privately operated immigration detention centers.
San Diego County sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March after two county supervisors and a health inspector were denied full access to the Otay Mesa facility, which is owned and operated by CoreCivic. The county was the first in California to attempt to use inspection powers granted under a 2024 state law.
Simmons indicated last month that the county was likely to prevail on its claim that it has authority under state law to conduct public health inspections at the facility.
In Wednesday’s order, the judge wrote that the inspection must be completed “as soon as possible” and no later than June 17, 2026. He also directed CoreCivic to provide a list of policies and procedures requested by the county.
“The county is responsible for the safety and health of anyone within its jurisdiction, including people detained in the facility,” County Counsel Damon Brown said at a news conference after a May hearing.
Otay Mesa is one of eight privately operated immigration detention centers in California. Together, those facilities hold about 5,300 people, up from roughly 3,100 shortly after President Trump took office in April 2025 and began a nationwide immigration enforcement campaign.
The judge also instructed county officials to work with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic to resolve details of the inspection. Those issues include who may participate, which parts of the facility may be reviewed, and how officials should obtain consent from detainees for interviews and medical record reviews.
During the court hearing, CoreCivic attorney Anne Orcutt said the Tennessee-based private prison company had filed a California Public Records Act request with San Diego County to determine whether county supervisors typically accompany health officials during public health inspections.
Speaking by Zoom, Orcutt described the county’s request to inspect the facility as unprecedented and discriminatory toward the federal government.
San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who was denied access during the attempted inspection in February, dismissed that argument as a distraction.
“That is a clear red herring,” Lawson-Remer said. “The first people who arrived were a public health official and a nurse. They were not allowed access to any of the relevant documents and were removed from the facility. The public health inspection was denied with or without our presence.”
At a March news conference announcing the lawsuit, county supervisors said reporting by CalMatters had played an important role in prompting the inspection order. Supervisor Paloma Aguirre specifically cited the case of a deaf Mongolian man who spent more than four months in custody without access to a Mongolian sign language interpreter, a situation his attorney described as total isolation.
CoreCivic spokesman Ryan Gustin said the company’s top priority is “the safety, health and well-being of the individuals in our care.”
“We fully respect the judicial process and remain committed to working with both ICE and San Diego County to reach a mutually agreed-upon resolution to this matter,” Gustin said.
Original source: CalMatters
