A federal judge in San Diego says a lawsuit alleging severe overcrowding at an immigration detention center in Otay Mesa should continue. Defendants argued last week that the case should be dismissed because federal immigration officials have corrected the problem. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The ACLU lawsuit alleges people incarcerated at the facility have been routinely packed into cells like sardines -- three to spaces designed for two.
The ACLU says those conditions led to problems with medical care and sanitation, and are ultimately unconstitutional.
Attorneys for the federal government argue they've fixed the overcrowding by moving people out of the facility.
However, the judge says the government has failed to show overcrowding won't happen again.
ACLU attorney Tom Jawetz is pleased with the judge's decision. He says since the lawsuit was filed conditions have improved.
Jawetz : And if this case had been thrown out, conditions would have gone back to what they were like when we first got involved.
In two weeks, the judge will consider whether the case should proceed as a class action suit.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
