San Diego County supervisors are taking the Trump administration to federal court after being blocked — for a second time — from conducting a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre announced Wednesday that the board, following a closed session, authorized county counsel to file a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE, and CoreCivic, the private prison company that operates the facility.

The move follows a February 20 inspection attempt that was cut short. Reports from detainees, including a note allegedly thrown over the facility fence, described inadequate food, no access to fresh fruit, restrictions on outdoor time, and untreated medical conditions. While the county’s medical officer was permitted limited entry, he was denied access to medical records, detainee interviews, and facility health policies — given what supervisors called a staged tour.

"What are they hiding that they won’t even let us in to a predetermined, pre-cleared inspection where you would assume they would show us the best of what they have?" Supervisor Aguirre said.

Supervisors say they submitted a follow-up inspection request and set a Wednesday 5 p.m. deadline for a response before proceeding with legal action. DHS did not reply by that deadline. San Diego County will be the first in California to attempt to exercise legal authority to inspect a federal immigration detention facility, according to Lawson-Remer. DHS disputed the supervisors’ timeline, saying they failed to contact ICE directly at least seven days in advance as required.