Operator Moves to Expand Immigrant Detention Center in San Diego County

Protestors link arms after tying children’s shoes and keys on the fence outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center during a demonstration against a Trump administration policy that separated migrant children from parents, in San Diego on June 23, 2018. (Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Jun 25, 2018 / 06:26 AM PDT

Updated: Jun 25, 2018 / 06:26 AM PDT

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A contractor working for private prison company CoreCivic has applied for construction permits to expand Otay Mesa Detention Center in southern San Diego County, which houses immigrants awaiting court proceedings.

The plans would add 512 beds to the facility through a construction project valued at more than $6 million in the permit application filed in mid-June with the county. That will grow the facility by about 35% from the 1,458 beds it now holds.

Otay Mesa Detention Center is the only immigration detention facility in San Diego County. It contracts directly with the federal government to hold people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody while they wait for hearings in immigration court.

It also houses people in U.S. marshals service custody who are awaiting trial in federal court. The ICE and marshals detainees stay in separate units.

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