Sen. Alex Padilla raises concerns about conditions inside downtown San Diego ICE facility
During a surprise inspection Friday, the senator observed an unusable holding cell and questioned whether the facility could safely accommodate detainees amid the ‘Operation Safe California’ increase in immigration arrests.
Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Sen. Alex Padilla said he observed concerning conditions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in downtown San Diego on Friday morning during an unannounced oversight visit.
Around 8 a.m. at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, where, in the basement, ICE operates holding cells intended for short-term detention, Padilla observed poor light and a cell rendered unusable due to plumbing problems, according to spokesperson Edgar D. Rodriguez.
He said the rooms did not seem appropriate to hold people for extended periods as they lacked proper sleeping accommodations and showers, and supplies seemed to be rundown and outdated.
At a press briefing outside after the visit, Padilla said that members of Congress — including those from San Diego and across California — have visited ICE detention facilities to confirm whether conditions are compliant with safety standards.
“(We) ask all the basic questions about not just access to food and water, but access to medical attention, access to counsel, ability to communicate with families and whatnot to make sure that those fundamental rights are being respected and that facilities are in compliance with the standards that they're supposed to maintain,” Padilla said.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
The senator said that during his visit, there were four people detained in the holding facility who had been brought there Friday morning.
“We understand that we should expect those numbers to go up throughout the course of the day because of the enforcement actions happening after school drop offs,” he said.
Padilla said he was not allowed to speak with any of the people detained there.
Rodriguez said Padilla also raised concerns over accountability at the facility after learning during his visit that ICE contracts with private operators to provide services at the facility rather than managing them directly.
Reports about conditions in ICE detention facilities and a recent increase in immigration arrests in San Diego County prompted Padilla’s unannounced visit.
“The senator remains concerned and is doubtful about whether this facility is adequately equipped to safely and appropriately accommodate individuals in ICE custody,” Rodriguez said via text Friday afternoon.
While ICE hasn’t publicly acknowledged it, media outlets have reported an increase in immigration arrests in San Diego as part of the 45-day “Operation Safe California” leading up to next month’s midterm election.
San Diego activists and immigration advocates have also noticed increased ICE activity locally.
Last week, more than 50 people gathered to protest ICE following recent arrests and ICE sightings at or near schools in City Heights, including Hoover High School, Ibarra Elementary School and John Marshall Elementary School.
Padilla said his office has received a significant uptick in calls related to people being detained by immigration officials in the region, especially during school drop offs.
“That says a lot about the priorities of this administration,” Padilla said. “It is not a focus on the worst of the worst as they so often claim to be. They are picking up people without those dangerous violent criminal backgrounds or records for the sake of meeting those arbitrary goals.”
He said that if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, Senate or both chambers as a result of the midterm election, he expects legislators to push for more accountability from ICE and the Trump administration.
