Federal officials and their contractor say they will not overcrowd the immigration detention center in Otay Mesa anymore. The agreement would settle a class-action lawsuit that charges chronic overcrowding at the facility is unconstitutional. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The ACLU filed the suit early last year that alleged overcrowding at the Otay immigration lock-up threatened detainees health and safety.
David Blair Loy with the ACLU in San Diego says the settlement recognizes the fact that the facility has a capacity that should not be exceeded.
Blair: And it stands for the principal that immigration detainees like other non-criminal detainees are entitled to human conditions of confinement.
Last January, people were jammed three to cells designed for two at the facility. One person was forced to sleep on the floor next to the toilet. People detained there complained about being sprayed with urine when someone got up at night to use the toilet. They also said the overcrowding delayed medical care.
The court must still approve the agreement.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
