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Federal immigration officials blocked two San Diego County Supervisors and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla from inspecting the Otay Mesa Detention Center Friday.
Padilla made an unannounced visit under a federal law that authorizes members of Congress to conduct oversight at detention facilities, with or without prior notice. The Department of Homeland Security had required lawmakers to provide seven days notice for visits, but a federal judge in December temporarily suspended that restriction, affirming that lawmakers can conduct real-time oversight of detention centers.
“It was beyond disappointing, but sadly, not surprising,” Padilla said. “The big question I come with is, what do they have to hide?
Earlier in the week, San Diego County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre had received clearance to enter the facility under California laws that empower state, county and local officials the authority to review health and safety conditions in privately-run immigration detention facilities.
However, they were refused entry Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement reversed that decision. San Diego County Public Health Officer Sayone Thihalolipavan and another county official were allowed limited access to inspect the facility Friday morning, but did not get to conduct a full inspection. Lawson-Remer said the county will challenge the denial in court.
“I have every intention of beginning to seek litigation,” she said. “The federal government can’t deny our lawful exercise of our public health and safety authority. That is a clear state law prerogative.”
The number of people held in ICE custody climbed from about 40,000 at the beginning of 2025 to 73,000 people in mid-January, amid immigration raids and mass deportation efforts under the Trump administration.
Padilla said the Otay Mesa facility has regularly exceeded capacity, with an average of 1,456 people in ICE custody between October 1 and November 10, exceeding CoreCivic’s contracted capacity of 1,358. ICE data show that the number of detainees exceeded 1,600 for several days in September.
A CalMatters investigation showed that immigration arrests have also soared, rising by 1,500% in San Diego between May and October of 2025, compared to the previous year.
Public officials have faced obstacles trying to observe conditions in immigration detention facilities, with some California lawmakers complaining they were turned away. In July, two Democratic Congress members said they were locked out at the gate of Adelanto ICE Processing Center as they attempted to check on constituents held there.
In other cases, they have successfully entered facilities and reported unhealthy conditions. Last month Padilla and fellow Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff made an oversight visit to the state’s newest and largest immigrant detention center in California City, north of Los Angeles. They described inadequate medical care, spoiled food and a prison-like environment.
County officials have authority to inspect for health or safety issues under a pair of California laws passed during the first Trump administration and last year. A CalMatters investigation last year found that four counties that include immigration detention facilities weren’t exercising that authority.
Lawson-Remer and Aguirre planned to review medical care, safety and living conditions at Otay Mesa Friday, but said county health officials received only cursory access to the facility, while the supervisors had none.
“Our chief medical officer was granted access earlier in the day,” Aguirre said. “He was cleared and he was able to enter the facility, but he was unable to complete a full inspection, so he was only able to see the kitchen and some medical bays. He did not have access to the policies and procedures, he was unable to see any medical records, or talk to any of the detainees.”
Before their visit, they received waivers from attorneys for several detainees who requested to speak with county officials. One diabetic patient complained he didn’t receive necessary medical care when his blood sugar levels were unregulated. Another had a rash covering most of his body and couldn’t get ointment to treat it. And one went on a hunger strike after getting inappropriate food, and was placed in what amounted to solitary confinement. Some detainees complained they had lost teeth because of poor nutrition.
The supervisors expected to interview the detainees, and had applied for clearance to enter the center more than a week ago. They shared copies of emails from ICE that confirmed approval of their request this week.
When they arrived, however, officials with CoreCivic, the private, Tennessee-based corporation that runs the facility, told them they didn’t have proper authorization from ICE.
“And then we produced the documents stating very clearly that we had been cleared by ICE and the story changed,” Aguirre said.
After the supervisors produced proof of their clearances, detention center officials told them that national ICE officials had reversed them. CalMatters contacted ICE for comment Friday, but did not receive a response.
When Aguirre and Lawson-Remer challenged the denial, they said detention officials threatened to call the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to remove them.
“They had plenty of notice, and they still didn’t let us in,” Lawson-Remer said. “You just think how awful these conditions must be.”
While Padilla was seeking entry to the detention facility around 3:30 p.m., a fire truck and ambulance entered the parking lot with lights flashing, then left shortly afterward. Padilla said detention officials wouldn’t provide information about the apparent medical emergency.
As the partial government shutdown that has halted funding for the Department of Homeland Security shows few signs of resolving, Padilla said Democrats will demand stricter standards for detention centers.
“We continue to leverage this funding debate to ensure not just reforms to what ICE agents and CBP agents are doing on the streets, how they’re connecting themselves in communities throughout the country, but to force concessions about the status of detention facilities as well,” he said.
