WATCH: In San Diego, Padilla Continues Statewide Unannounced Oversight Visits of ICE Facilities

This is Padilla’s fourth unannounced oversight visit of an ICE facility this month and seventh in California this year, as the Trump Administration escalates immigration enforcement operations across the state. Photos and b-roll here. Spanish b-roll is here.

SAN DIEGO, CA — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, conducted an unannounced oversight visit today to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) holding facility at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in San Diego. The visit comes amid reports of the Trump Administration’s 45-day immigration enforcement surge, reportedly called “Operation Safe California,” that began in the San Diego region and has expanded across California. The   operations raises serious concerns about federal enforcement tactics, transparency, and accountability.

“I came to the San Diego ICE holding facility following troubling reports my office has received about the conditions in which people are being detained here and to demand answers about how this Administration is carrying out its so-called ‘Operation Safe California,’ it’s latest surge in immigration enforcement. They would not acknowledge or confirm such an operation exists and referred all questions about numbers to headquarters, but the reality on the ground is clear,” said Senator Padilla. “As ICE ramps up enforcement across California, the public deserves transparency about the conditions inside these facilities, whether due process rights are being respected, and how many detainees indeed have a violent criminal history.”

Yesterday, Padilla conducted an unannounced oversight visit to the Sacramento ICE ERO holding facility following an incident in Woodland, California, in which an unmarked ICE vehicle struck U.S. citizen Antonio Moreida. Padilla’s San Diego visit comes as reports of increased ICE enforcement activity emerge across the state. Padilla previously attempted to conduct an oversight visit to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in February but was denied entry.

“This Administration cannot be allowed to evade oversight or operate without accountability,” continued Senator Padilla. “I’m continuing these unannounced visits across California to document what we find and build a record that will help us hold this Administration accountable. We cannot take this Administration at its word, and when Democrats take back Congress, we will use every tool available to demand answers.”

Padilla has repeatedly conducted oversight visits to immigration detention facilities and holding centers across California to examine conditions firsthand and demand accountability from federal officials. His visits have included facilities in California City, Otay Mesa, San Francisco International Airport, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego. He will continue using his oversight authority to document federal immigration enforcement practices, demand answers, and hold the Trump Administration accountable.

Photos and video of today’s oversight visit are available here.

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