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Rep. Juan Vargas denied entry into San Diego immigrant detention center
San Diego Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) was turned away from the Otay Mesa Detention Center Friday when he arrived for an unannounced oversight inspection.
Vargas said his visit was in response to reports detainees had thrown notes wrapped around deodorant and lotion bottles describing substandard food and living conditions.
Vargas's district includes the facility. He said his office has also been receiving complaints about the conditions inside.
"I have every right to go in and do oversight and inspection of this facility and they said "no," Vargas told reporters outside the detention center. "I'm extremely disappointed. I think it's a violation of the law and we'll see them in court."
The facility is run by CoreCivic, which also runs the family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, among others.
Vargas said the warden of the Otay Mesa center said he was under orders from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not to allow him inside.
The denial came just days after a federal jud