http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01 ... _24_07.txt

Wednesday, January 24, 2007


ACLU seeks wider suit over San Diego immigration jail conditions

By: ALLISON HOFFMAN - Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday sought class-action status for a lawsuit against a privately operated federal immigration detention center near the U.S.-Mexico border on behalf detainees who claim they are being held in overcrowded and inhumane conditions.

According to the ACLU complaint, which aims to broaden an earlier suit, the 1,232-bed San Diego Correctional Facility is "chronically and dangerously overcrowded," which leads to an increase in violence among inmates, poor sanitation and hygiene, diminished access to medical attention, and "a loss of personal dignity."

Inmates at the facility include illegal immigrants caught at the border, asylum seekers, or people who are challenging deportation orders. They can be held for periods ranging from months to years.

The complaint alleges that 675 detainees are subject to "triple-celling," in which three people share cells that measure 6 feet by 12 feet. The plaintiffs named in the suit claim they had to sleep on plastic mats on the floor and were close enough to the cell toilets that they were "sprayed" by cellmates using the toilet or sink.

David Blair-Loy, legal director of the San Diego chapter of the ACLU, said that overcrowding at the facility had worsened in recent months, with inmates crammed "like sardines" due to the closure of a unit at the center and to a growing inmate population as a result of heightened border enforcement.

"The situation here is egregious and I think unconscionable," said Blair-Loy. "You've either got to have fewer detainees or more space."

The complaint, filed in San Diego federal court, names Julie Myers, the assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Torres, the director of detention operations for ICE, and ICE officials in San Diego with supervisory responsibility for the facility operated by the private Corrections Corporation of America. The company, based in Nashville, Tenn., is also named in the complaint.

ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said the agency will not comment on pending litigation, but said the agency conducts annual audits of its facilities and is committed to maintaining "safe, secure and humane detention conditions."

There was no immediate response to a telephone message seeking comment from Joe Easterling, the warden of the facility and also a named party.

Corrections Corporation of America declined to comment on the lawsuit.

"Our policy is not to comment on ongoing or pending litigation except through court filings," said Steven Owen, a CCA spokesman.

The minimum- and medium-security detention center, located about 25 miles east of downtown San Diego, opened in June 1998 and is used by federal immigration authorities and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The ACLU motion for class-action status amends an existing lawsuit filed by Isaac Kiniti, a Kenyan fighting a deportation order who claims he has been repeatedly "triple-celled" during his time at the San Diego facility since his 2004 arrest by immigration officials.