The San Diego County Board of Supervisors announced on Wednesday night their plans to sue the Trump administration after again being denied their request to conduct a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, following multiple attempts to investigate reports of bad food, untreated medical conditions and more. “Today, federal officials have a choice: they can confirm our inspection on Friday,” Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, “or they can explain to a federal judge next week why they believe immigration detention facilities should be exempt from basic public health oversight.” Lawson-Remer and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said the board, in a closed session on Tuesday, authorized county counsel to prepare that lawsuit. It comes after the two attempted to conduct the inspection on Feb. 20, having heard those reports, including a note attached to a lotion bottle thrown over the fence last month that said detainees are not given any fresh fruit and are not allowed outside, among other concerns. Lawson-Remer and Aguirre said the inspection was planned and showed emails from CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs the facility, indicating ICE had cleared their visit. The supervisors said the county’s medical officer was allowed inside but staff did not let him conduct the full inspection. Related stories Immigration Mar 2 Asylum seeker hospitalized in hunger strike after 17 months at Otay Mesa Detention Center Immigration Feb 20 Sen. Padilla, San Diego County supervisors denied entry to Otay Mesa Detention Center Immigration Feb 6 Note alleges harsh conditions in Otay Mesa Detention Center, congressman denied entry “He was given what can only be described as a staged tour, briefly shown a kitchen and two medical bays, but he was denied access to medical records,” Lawson-Remer said. “He was refused detainee interviews and he was refused access to basic facility health policies.” When Aguirre and Lawson-Remer attempted to join the county medical officer, they were turned away and said staff told them they would call the sheriff on them. “They said that they’d gotten a call from, quote, headquarters, and headquarters had told them to not let us in,” Lawson-Remer said. “They said that we had clearance from local ICE, but national ICE essentially had overturned that clearance.” “Their story changed while we were there, so I think they were just grasping at straws. The big question is, what are they trying to hide?” Aguirre said. “What are they hiding that they won’t even let us in to a predetermined, pre-cleared inspection where you would assume that they would show us the best of what they have. They’re not even willing to do that.” The supervisors said they submitted another request to inspect the facility this Friday and if they did not hear back by 5 p.m. Wednesday they planned to sue the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Sec. Kristi Noem, ICE and CoreCivic. After that deadline, their offices confirmed they had not received a response and would be filing the lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday. They and county counsel Damon Brown said they have the authority under state law. “We are the first county in the state of California to attempt to exercise this authority to inspect a detention facility,” Lawson-Remer said, calling it “definitely uncharted.” In a statement, a DHS spokesperson reiterated what the agency said on Feb. 20, that the supervisors did not obtain prior approval. “San Diego County supervisors demanded entry at the Otay Mesa Detention Center without abiding by proper protocol and contacting ICE to request access at least seven days in advance. Instead, they reached out to an ICE contractor. Since ICE was not notified of the visit beforehand, they were turned away,” the statement reads. Last year, DHS instituted a requirement for members of Congress to give seven days’ notice of an oversight, which was the subject of a separate federal lawsuit by 13 representatives who had been denied access to facilities. The same day the supervisors attempted to visit, Sen. Alex Padilla was also denied entry. That came two weeks after Rep. Juan Vargas was turned away. This week, a federal judge ruled that members of Congress do not have to give that notice. Rep. Mike Levin said he has always been allowed to visit federal facilities – including unannounced – as part of Congress’ oversight role. “If they know we’re coming in advance, they can clean things up,” Levin said. Last fall, he and Vargas, as well as Reps. Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters were all twice denied entry to the basement of the federal building where ICE temporarily holds some detainees for processing. They were allowed in on a third attempt after giving that notice. “To be told that I can’t go in or to be told that I can’t meet with detainees or see the conditions is wholly unacceptable,” Levin said. He said last month, he did give notice to visit the Otay Mesa Detention Center and was able to get in. “Look, I figured worst case scenario is they clean the place up before I get there, but at least it pushes them to clean the place up,” he said. Levin said he was allowed to speak with only one detainee, the father of a constituent from Carlsbad, who said he was treated with “at least a basic degree of humanity,” and the food was “not great but not inedible.” “The one thing that obviously was concerning is being forced to wake up through the night every four hours for checks, so never being allowed to sleep, you know, really longer than four hours at a stretch,” Levin said. “I certainly wouldn’t wish on anybody.” Levin said he raised concerns he had heard about the conditions, which staff did not acknowledge or admit. “But I think in highlighting it and making sure people are getting their medication, making sure people are having enough fresh food to eat and getting enough sleep and things like that – I think shedding light is important,” Levin said. “We’ll be able to do that a lot more now that we can go unannounced, and we’ll also be able to verify that what we’re seeing is not just a show being put on for our appearance.” To follow up on those reports, Lawson-Remer and Aguirre said they were no longer willing to wait. “They’ve stonewalled with additional, extremely irrelevant questions. We’ve answered the questions that they’ve asked of us,” Lawson-Remer said. “At this point, it’s time for action, and if they do not schedule this inspection on Friday, we will be in court.” CoreCivic said in a statement, “The safety, health and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care is our top priority,” adding that the facilities are regularly reviewed and audited. ...read more read less