SAN DIEGO (CN) – Public officials will be able to conduct health and safety inspections at a privately operated federal immigration detention facility near the U.S.-Mexico border, after a federal judge sided with San Diego County on Wednesday.
County officials hailed the decision as a landmark victory against the Trump administration that will provide a roadmap for health officials to seek access to immigration 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, at the beginning of this year after defendants denied county health officials the opportunity to inspect the facility.
IN her complaintthe county says it received permission to complete the inspection in February 2026, but was later prevented from gaining full access to the facility and conducting the inspection to county standards.
“San Diego County has set the gold standard for the rest of the state with this win,” San Diego County Board Chairwoman Terra Lawson-Remer said in a news release. “It’s a huge victory for immigrant rights and for the 1,400 inmates at the Otay Mesa Detention Center and the thousands of other immigrants detained throughout the state of California.”
U.S. District Judge James Simmons, a Joe Biden appointee, granted it motion of the district that seeks to block efforts by the Department of Homeland Security 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 surveillance, San Diego County has created a path for meaningful inspections across California,” said Lawson-Remer, who led the county to file the lawsuit along with Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre. “This decision sends a strong message to the Trump administration that accountability matters and that the health and well-being of detained immigrants cannot be ignored.”
Aguirre said the issue is primarily about liability.
“We are pleased 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 treated humanely, safely and with dignity. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold those responsible accountable. This is a win for California.”
The county will have one full day to complete the inspection.
“The defendants must provide access to the facility sufficient for the plaintiff to conduct health and safety inspections according to the minimum standards and requirements established by the State Board of Community and Corrections for the food, clothing and care of inmates in local jails and detention facilities, as described in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations,” Simmons ruled.
Critically, defendants are barred from preemption county health inspection team Simmons decided not to talk to any of the detainees or communicate in writing with them.
“Defendants’ actions to facilitate detainee interviews (including the timing, placement and languages of sign-in sheets, and the provision of a list of detainees) will meet or exceed the actions Defendants have taken to facilitate California Department of Justice detainee interviews conducted pursuant to Assembly Bill 103,” Simmon wrote. “Defendants shall not retaliate against any person for executing a waiver or communicating with the inspection team.”
Simmons also ordered the defendants to provide access to the facility’s health inspection checklists regarding the prison’s environment, food, and medical and mental health facilities. This includes access to medical areas, accommodation and food preparation of the facility.
The health inspection team will also be allowed access to medical records of detainees required to complete their checklist.
Up to four team members may be allowed into the facility, including District Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan and a representative from the county Department of Health and Environmental Quality.
ICE initially told the county it lacked the funds to complete an inspection, according to court documents. However, Thihalolipavan said that was not a valid excuse and the county inspections would be at no cost to the Department of Homeland Security.
“It is undisputed that inspections are required to report on health and sanitation conditions within facilities and that inspections have identified minor and major opportunities for improvement that have been addressed to better serve those detained,” the district argued in its filing. motion for preliminary injunction. “Given ongoing concerns about the health issues of detainees at the facility, the strong public interest in immediately ordering the defendants to block the legally authorized inspection of their facility is unquestionable.”
The Otay Mesa Detention Center 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, mostly in Texas, California and Arizona.
Spokesmen from CoreCivic and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.
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