SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — An attorney who represents migrants being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center tells Border Report that the facility is operating beyond capacity, which has been contributing to an “outbreak” of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
The Otay Mesa Detention Center sits on the foothills of Otay Mountain just north of the border southeast of downtown San Diego. It houses mostly immigrants who are awaiting deportation or their court cases to be decided, and it has beds for 1,358 detainees.
The attorney says “at least dozens” of detainees have tested positive for the virus, and he fears this could lead to an epidemic.
The facility, which is run by CoreCivic, a private company based in Tennessee, confirms there have been some COVID-19 cases, but it says those who test positive are being isolated and cared for.
In a statement to Border Report, a CoreCivic spokesperson said, “Due to the enhanced protocols in place, non-symptomatic cases have been identified at the facility. … These individuals are currently being monitored and receiving appropriate care.”
The attorney, who represents detainees in immigration proceedings, tells Border Report it’s more serious than that.
“A lot of people have been coming down with COVID,” he said. “This is scary considering that so many are made to live in close quarters, and while there’s treatment, there are people with low immune systems who could become fatalities.”
However, the attorney said that as far as he knows, no one has died or has been hospitalized.
He also stated Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released some individuals as a way to ease overcrowding and the likelihood of the virus spreading throughout the detention center.
That is something ICE vehemently denies.
In a statement to Border Report, ICE said, “As of Sept. 16, ICE has not released any aliens from the Otay Mesa Detention Center due to COVID. While there have been a handful of new COVID cases, the operational stance has not changed. Detainees with COVID are separated from the general population and given continuous care.”
According to data compiled by the nonprofit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), migrants in ICE custody often are kept in detention facilities that are privately managed and operate over-capacity.
The data shows that through April of Fiscal Year 2025, the Otay Mesa Detention Facility exceeded its “contractual capacity,” or the total number of available beds at least one day. Data shows that one point, the facility was housing 1,461 migrants but it only had room for 1,358. Nationwide, TRAC reports, 84 out of the 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day from October 2024 through mid-April 2025.
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