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San Diego County may join a growing list of local governments providing attorneys to people held in federal immigration custody.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer has proposed a one-year pilot program with a $5 million budget administered through the San Diego County Public Defender Office that would offer lawyers for free to people detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center the local federal facility for those in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lawson-Remer called the program a lifeline to longtime residents and newly arrived asylum seekers alike.
“Our justice system should be based on facts and law, not access to wealth and resources,” she said, standing on the sidewalk outside the detention facility.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer proposes immigrant legal defense program
The proposed initiative the Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program - - is intended to help address the current backlog in immigration courts.
Credit: ACLU San Diego via Twitter Author: City News Service Updated: 5:45 PM PDT April 27, 2021
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer introduced a plan Tuesday intended to make San Diego the first southern border county in the United States with a program to provide legal representation for immigrants facing removal proceedings. Lawson-Remer announced the plan during a news conference outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
The proposed initiative the Immigrant Rights Legal Defense Program - - is intended to help address the current backlog in immigration courts, while also saving taxpayer dollars and supporting the local economy.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The American Civil Liberties Union called Wednesday on the Biden administration to shut down 39 ICE detention facilities across the country, including the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the ACLU called for the closure of the facilities it alleges were opened without adequate justification, opened in remote locations with compromised access to legal counsel and external medical care, or have documented patterns of inhumane treatment.
The ACLU claims there have been “documented patterns of abuse, mistreatment and misconduct” at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
In a report the ACLU released earlier this month, the organization alleges failures at the facility to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic led to an outbreak that included the first death of a person in ICE custody to the virus.
The ACLU says there have been documented patterns of abuse, mistreatment and misconduct at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
In a report the ACLU released earlier this month, the organization alleges failures at the facility to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic led to an outbreak that included the first death of a person in ICE custody to the virus. The report also alleges persistently inadequate medical care for detainees, dangerous building conditions, and abuse and retaliation against detainees and employees. Time and time again, the immigration detention facilities in San Diego and Imperial counties have proven to be unsafe, abusive and unable to uphold the due process rights of the people trapped inside, said Monika Langarica, immigrants rights staff attorney for the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties. It is past time to bring an end to the shameful practice of detaining immigrants in our region and across the country and embrace a policy of humane
ACLU calls on Biden admin to close 39 ICE facilities, including Otay Mesa
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Elliot Spagat/AP
FILE - In this June 9, 2017, file photo, a vehicle drives into the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Authorities say a 57-year-old person in immigration custody has died from complications related to the coronavirus, marking the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people in U.S. immigration custody. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat, File)
and last updated 2021-04-28 14:42:10-04
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The American Civil Liberties Union called Wednesday on the Biden administration to shut down 39 ICE detention facilities across the country, including the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.