San Diego supervisors demand answers after man dies in ICE custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center
County leaders are calling for federal cooperation with a death investigation as they continue fighting for access to inspect the facility.
Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey
San Diego County supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre called on the federal government Tuesday to cooperate with a county investigation into the death of a man in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody Saturday at Otay Mesa Detention Center.
The supervisors said they are sending a letter with nonnegotiable demands that the Trump Administration and CoreCivic fully cooperate with the county medical examiner’s investigation into the death of the man. The letter will also call for the facility to preserve all records related to the man’s detention, care and death; provide a timeline of events and notify the appropriate consulate if he was a foreign national.
During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, the supervisors also demanded that ICE promptly publish its death notice and detainee death report.
Later Tuesday afternoon, ICE identified the man as Roberto Jimenez Gutierrez, 43, from Guatemala. The agency said in a death notice on its website that Jimenez Gutierrez was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday at 11:31 a.m. ICE said medical staff were brought in to administer CPR approximately seven minutes later, followed by paramedics from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. A paramedic pronounced him dead at 12:23 p.m.
The agency said it had notified Jimenez Gutierrez’s next of kin and the Guatemalan consulate.
Earlier this year, the county sued the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CoreCivic to allow a health inspection after officials denied the county's public health officer full access to the facility and people held there.
“We subsequently won a court order allowing that inspection to occur,” Lawson-Remer said. “But our fight is not over because we should not have to sue the federal government every time a public health officer needs to walk inside an ICE detention facility.”
Following an inspection later that month, the county reported that the facility didn’t have vaccines in stock and failed to promptly report tuberculosis cases, potentially increasing the risk of disease transmission. Inspectors also identified a detainee who had gone 18 months without a needed replacement medical device and recommended improvements to vaccination records, medication refrigeration monitoring and sanitation procedures.
“Our findings prove that systemic negligence was taking place,” Aguirre said. “ICE and CoreCivic must be held accountable for those failures right now before another family is forced to suffer the same unimaginable grief.”
The supervisors said they are also seeking a written confirmation of any changes at the facility since the June inspection.
Officials have yet to determine a cause of death following an autopsy Monday, Lawson-Remer said.
“We do not yet know what caused his death, but we know that a family has lost someone they love. They deserve answers,” she said. “When our government takes someone into custody, it takes responsibility for their life, their health and their safety. No one should lose their basic human rights just because they're behind bars.”
Lawson-Remer said the county is continuing to push for a long-term agreement with CoreCivic regarding future health inspections at the Otay Mesa facility.
Human Rights Watch reported that in the first year of the second Trump administration, there was a 140% increase in the mortality rate for people in ICE custody.
The next court mediation is scheduled for Thursday, Lawson-Remer said.
A coalition of local organizations including the American Friends Service Committee-San Diego and the AMBOS Project is hosting a Día de Muertos community altar Wednesday evening outside the detention facility to commemorate people who died from an accident, tragic event or violent death.
Día de Muertos Community Altar: A coalition of local organizations including the American Friends Service Committee-San Diego and the AMBOS Project is hosting a Día de Muertos community altar to commemorate people who died from an accident, tragic event or violent death.
⏰ 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
🌎 Otay Mesa Detention Center, 7488 Calzada de la Fuente, San Diego, CA 92154
