County sues DHS over access to Otay Mesa Detention Center

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show , County Supervisor Tara Lawson Reamer joins us to talk about the DHS lawsuit over Otay Mesa Access. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation with. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Trump administration over access to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. The suit targets the Department of Homeland Security , Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic , who's the private company that runs the detention center. Now. KPBS reporting revealed complaints about overcrowding and medical neglect from within the facility. And last month , federal and county officials were turned away when they tried to inspect the centre. So just last week , the county issued an ultimatum to DHS let them end the facility or face legal action. Well , joining me now is San Diego County Board of Supervisors chair , Tara Lawson Riemer , supervisor. Welcome back to Midday Edition.

S2: Great to be here. Thank you.

S1: Good to have you here. So let's recap what's happened up until this point. We know last month county officials were turned away from Otay Mesa.

S2: And unfortunately , when we did arrive to conduct a very standard public health inspection that is , um , very standard for detention facilities in general. Uh , we were denied access. Myself and Supervisor Gary were both turned away , and our chief public health officer , uh , was allowed to enter only very briefly. Um , was only allowed to to view a medical bay and , uh , some kitchen facilities was not allowed to interview any detainees. Um , sort of basically could not conduct any inspection whatsoever and then was asked to leave. Um , so , um , immediately after being denied access to the facility , we , uh , notified Ice that , uh , we had to conduct this inspection. It is not only our right , but it really is our obligation as the public health authority for San Diego County. And , um , told them that we needed to be admitted to the facility by Friday. This was last Friday and they did not do so. And so then we filed a suit , um. Yesterday. Tuesday. Hmm.

S1: Hmm.

S2: Really ? Um. Sad. Uh , you know , there's been reports of , uh , everything from contaminated food to physical assaults to people who are being confined in cages. Um , none of these are , uh , independently verified , however. So although we have these allegations , um , and there's many , many of them , and they span , uh , kind of a range of , um , abuses and various types of public health neglect. Uh , none of these have been substantiated. Um , but they're certainly , um , significant enough to give cause for alarm and and make it really imperative that. That we are able to inspect the facility. Hmm.

S1: Hmm. Well , I know KPBS asked DHS to respond to allegations of untreated medical conditions , spoiled food , and unsafe conditions in general. In a statement , a DHS DHS spokesperson said that all detainees are provided with proper meals , water and medical treatment. And they said , quote , Ice has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual citizens , end quote.

S2: I think private company likes Tara.

S1: I think you're where you're going. Yeah , yeah. Still here. We can sort of hear you. Your your signal is going in and out , though.

S2: Um , is that a little better ? Yeah.

S1: It is. Go ahead. Okay.

S2: Okay. Sure. I said , at the end of the day , every , every agency and any operation is , is going to paint the rosy picture. But that's why you have public health authorities whose job it is to inspect and ensure that these detention facilities are being operated at an acceptable standard. And , you know , the the facilities in which people are detained in San Diego County , um , the sheriff operates are likewise subject to inspection. Um , and , you know , you can think about just basic everyday things , not just detention facilities , but the restaurants that we eat at. Every restaurant is going to tell you that the restaurants are great and their kitchens clean. Uh , but that's why you got to look and see. Do they have an A grade or not from there. Public health inspection. Um. And I'm personally. I don't care what the restaurant says. If they've got a C grade on the window , I'm not eating there. So I think it's a really similar situation here. If they have nothing to hide. They really should let us conduct this inspections.

S1: Right ? Well , and so you you announced this ultimatum against the federal government last Wednesday. And that was the day before U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was fired from that position by Trump. Has that news changed things at all for the lawsuit ? No.

S2: The the Ice and CoreCivic and the federal government have an obligation to ensure basic standards of health and dignity for the individuals in in their custody. And that doesn't matter who's at the helm of DHS. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. And San Diego is the first county to sue DHS under a state law that allows California counties to inspect detention facilities.

S2: Um , but they've been denied access and given a runaround and continue to be , um , unable , for the most part , to conduct reasonable inspections of these facilities. So it is really imperative that we take another approach to oversight and this state law that , um , mandates that counties have public health authority over detention facilities within our jurisdiction is a is a really important tool to protect public health and to ensure that detention facilities are being operated safely and humanely. And it really is a different kind of oversight authority. It's important to distinguish when we are the public health authority of the region. I mean , that's what the county is charged to do and does , and we do it in an ongoing way. We have a very rigorous and standardized checklist. It includes interviewing detainees , um , checking detainee medical records , matching , uh , policies and procedures to staff reports regarding um practices within the facility. Um includes inspecting various parts of a facility , including where individuals sleep and eat. Uh , it's a very rigorous and very standardized public health inspection. Um , that is , uh , at a level of , um , uh , professionalism that that I think is necessary to provide a real granular understanding of what is and is not happening in these facilities. Right.

S1: Right. And , you know , while you all have the authority.

S3: As it is.

S1: Written to go in to inspect and check in on all of those things , the county does not have the authority to shut the facility down. Actually , only Congress can.

S2: It is both our right and our obligation to protect the public health of of everyone in San Diego County , both residents and detainees. And it's important to take a moment to talk about , um , why this is so critical. Right. I mean , I think it's really clear , the negative , um , potentially life threatening , um , impacts of abuses on detainees. Uh , and we've had a , had a litany of those complaints , and they're all deeply , deeply troubling. But we also know that Staff , um , go in and out these facilities. People live in our communities. So if there are significant , um , public health challenges such as , um , unsafe conditions that could lead to , uh , outbreaks of communicable diseases that would threaten our entire region. Um , not just the individuals obtain. So we would we really need to know that , um , both of the the well-being of people in custody , but also for the well-being and the public health and safety of our entire community. So this is a really critical function that we need to perform. Um , so the goal of the lawsuit is really to allow us to do our job , quite frankly , to conduct this public health inspection. And obviously , if we go in and we find that that they're substantiated , that the allegations are substantiated and there are serious public health concerns and violations , we will issue a detailed report. We'll make that report public. Um , our hope would be that , of course , we would then take immediate corrective action , um , to to fix the problems that we've identified and then would have us back shortly thereafter to verify that corrective action had been taken. That would certainly be our hope and our intent. And obviously , if they refuse to take corrective action even after , um , the public health , uh , discrepancies and challenges are documented , then , uh , that would be grounds for Congress , which is the oversight agency that has the authority to shut down the detention centers that would document a substantiated public health report , would be grounds to shut the facility down.

S1: And is that is that , you know , I mean , because , you know , the the current administration has been known to flaunt court rulings. So , so what happens if the county wins and the federal government still refuses access ? Is it then in Congress's hands ? Is that what the hope is ? Yeah.

S2: I mean , I will say as distressing and terrible as so many of this administration's actions have been. I do think the bulwark of protecting our democracy , our civil liberties , our freedom , kind of our basic decency as of as Americans , um , over the last year and change has been our legal system. Um , and the court has ruled time and again in ways that protect the Constitution , uh , protect people's human rights , uh , protect rule of law. And , um , the administration has often begrudgingly and , um , often with quite great delay , but has been forced to abide by those court orders. Um , and we expect and anticipate , um , that the administration will continue to obey the rule of law , because if we end up in a moment or situation where we have , um , the president refusing to follow the law. We have now entered a much darker moment.

S1: Yeah , well , you know , yesterday you put it plainly. You said transparency and public oversight are not optional. And of course , we'll continue to see how this lawsuit unfolds. I've been speaking with Tara Lawson reamer , San Diego County Board of Supervisors chair , thank you so much for joining us.

S2: Thank you. Happy to be here.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.