At Least 1 Immigrant Being Held at Otay Mesa Has Been There 5 Years, Despite ICE Lacking Authorization to Incarcerate as Punishment: Report

Members of the clergy pray at the entrance to the Otay Mesa Detention Center during a demonstration against U.S. immigration policy that separates children from parents on June 23, 2018. (Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Oct 15, 2018 / 06:15 PM PDT

Updated: Oct 15, 2018 / 06:16 PM PDT

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At least one person has spent more than five years in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, according to data obtained through a records request by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse of Syracuse University.

TRAC’s report gives a snapshot of who was held in immigration detention on June 30. At that time, six people had been at the San Diego facility for more than three years.

The man with the longest time inside had been in ICE custody since May 2013, according to TRAC. The man, a citizen of Mexico, has a burglary conviction.

ICE is not authorized to hold people as punishment. It detains people waiting for immigration hearings if it believes they won’t show up to court or are dangerous.

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