San Diego County made legal history today in the fight for immigrant rights and government accountability, winning one of the first major court tests of California’s new law authorizing local public health inspections of private immigrant detention centers. 

In the first major court test on whether federal agencies can block authorized County public health inspections of California’s private immigrant detention centers, a federal judge today ruled San Diego County Public Health does have the authority to conduct inspections of Otay Mesa Detention Facility after earlier being blocked.  

Click here to read the order granting the preliminary injunction

Federal Judge James Simmons Jr. ordered the inspection to take place by June 17 and for the Trump Administration’s federal defendants and the privately-owned Otay Mesa Detention Center to produce all of the policies and procedures requested by San Diego County. 

“San Diego County has set the gold standard for the rest of the state with this win. It’s an enormous victory for immigrant rights and for the 1,400 detainees at Otay Mesa Detention Center and thousands of other detained immigrants throughout the state of California,” said San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer who led the County to file the lawsuit along with Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre after County officials were denied entrance into the Otay Detention Center. “By standing up to ICE’s efforts to block oversight, San Diego County has created a pathway for meaningful inspections throughout California. This ruling sends a powerful message to the Trump Administration that accountability matters and that the health and well-being of detained immigrants cannot be ignored.” 

“We are glad that our county staff will still be able to conduct these inspections and exercise our legal right. This has always been about fundamental accountability. We have a duty to oversee what happens within our borders and ensure that every individual is being treated humanly, safely, and with dignity. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold those in charge accountable. This is a win for California,”

said San Diego County Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre.

Judge Simmons last month ordered attorneys for San Diego County to meet and confer with federal attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CoreCivic to determine the scope and terms of the inspections including interviews with detainees, medical records and policies & procedures. CoreCivic is the Tennessee-based private prison company that owns and operates Otay Mesa. 

The County first requested an inspection of Otay Mesa Detention Center in February 2026 after receiving numerous complaints about poor conditions inside the facility. Federal officials initially approved the inspection but later reversed that decision and denied County officials a full inspection. The County Public Health Officer was allowed into Otay Mesa on the same day but was not permitted to interview anyone and was heavily restricted in what he was allowed to observe.  

Background:

1. The County will have one full day to do the inspection and it shall be completed by June 17, 2026
2. The County will have access to the full facility including the medical, food preparation, and housing areas
3. The inspection team can be up to four (4) people and is limited to credentialed subject matter experts, including the Public Health Officer, our consultant NCCHC Resources, and a representative from DEHQ. The Court denied the County’s request for any Supervisors to be part of the inspection team.
4. Defendants shall not prevent the inspection team from speaking with detainees and shall facilitate interviews. Defendants shall not retaliate against any detainees that speak with the inspection team.
5. Our subject matter experts shall be allowed to inspect medical records as required to complete the inspection. Importantly, the court is not requiring the County to obtain waivers to review medical records.
6. The parties shall cooperate further to carry out the inspection.

The ruling affirms San Diego County’s authority to conduct public health oversight at Otay Mesa Detention Center and creates a potential roadmap for local health officials seeking access to immigrant detention centers across California.