San Diego County plans federal lawsuit over blocked public health inspections at Otay Mesa Detention Center

County leaders say federal agencies and contractor are preventing lawful inspections of a privately run immigration facility

San Diego County is preparing to file a federal lawsuit seeking access to conduct public health inspections at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a privately operated immigration detention facility in the county’s South Bay. County officials say they have been repeatedly blocked from carrying out an inspection intended to evaluate health and safety conditions inside the facility.

The planned legal action names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement arm, as well as the private prison contractor that owns and operates the site. County leaders have described the dispute as a jurisdictional and compliance conflict: the county argues that state-authorized public health inspection responsibilities extend to facilities operating within California, while federal officials maintain that entry must follow federal detention facility protocols and approval pathways.

What prompted the lawsuit

The lawsuit plans follow multiple incidents in which county officials and elected representatives attempted to enter or inspect the detention center and were denied full access. County leaders state that public health staff received only limited entry during a scheduled inspection effort, while some county officials seeking to observe conditions were not permitted inside.

The Otay Mesa Detention Center is operated by CoreCivic under federal contract and is one of the largest immigration detention sites in California. Publicly available oversight reporting in recent years has examined medical and mental health services, language access, and conditions of confinement at the facility, issues that have fueled renewed calls for independent inspection access.

Key points in the dispute

• San Diego County says it has authority and responsibility to conduct public health inspections aimed at verifying basic health and safety compliance.

• Federal officials have asserted that the county’s requests were not properly routed and that approvals must follow federal detention facility procedures.

• County leaders contend that repeated denials prevent meaningful assessment of living conditions, medical access, and safety practices.

Why access matters

Public health inspections are typically designed to identify sanitation issues, communicable disease risks, and other hazards that can affect both detained populations and staff. County leaders have also pointed to the detention center’s scale and the potential public health implications of limited oversight in a high-turnover congregate setting.

The dispute comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration detention practices nationwide, including the scope of local and state oversight over facilities that are federally contracted but physically located within state boundaries. The county’s lawsuit is expected to ask a federal court to clarify whether local public health inspectors can conduct comprehensive inspections at the facility and under what conditions access must be provided.

San Diego County has signaled it will seek a court order compelling access if federal officials continue to block comprehensive inspections.

The county has indicated it intends to file the lawsuit in federal court in the days ahead. Federal agencies and the facility operator have not agreed to the county’s stated inspection terms, setting up a legal test that could influence how similar facilities are inspected in California going forward.