ICE Holding Hundreds of Immigrants in Makeshift Detention Center Under San Diego Courthouse

All across the United States, routine check-ins with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have become a new way for the agency to detain immigrants.

From Los Angeles to New York, hundreds of people who appeared for standard appointments at federal buildings have been held for days as immigration authorities work to meet quotas widely pushed by senior Trump administration officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has urged the agency to make at least 3,000 arrests nationwide each day.

Multiple reports indicate that this tactic has been in place for weeks, leading to hundreds of people being confined in makeshift detention facilities. As Border Report noted on Oct. 22, that has been the case in San Diego.

According to the outlet, about 200 immigrants who arrived for annual check-ins with ICE were detained and are being held in the basement of the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego.

Attorneys for several detainees told Border Report that their clients received letters from the agency requesting their presence for “an official matter.” Once they arrived, they were taken into custody and held in the courthouse basement because there was no space available at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

One attorney said the immigrants being held do not appear in ICE’s detainee locator database and that families have been unable to obtain information about their loved ones.

Another attorney, who requested anonymity, said her clients were kept in rooms with extreme temperatures and forced to share bathrooms without privacy. She added that those being held were not provided medical care or edible food while confined in the basement.

In response, San Diego-area Congressmen Juan Vargas and Scott Peters held a press conference outside the courthouse on Oct. 20 to raise their concerns about how federal authorities are detaining immigrants

“We’ve had reports to our office that a number of people have been detained and held in the basement of the building far beyond any of the standards that are humane and legally necessary,” Vargas said, adding that public officials have been denied information about the holding area and the number of people kept there.

“Normally, when you go to a facility you can ask, ‘How many people have you detained? What are their ages? Are there family members?’ They wouldn’t give us any information whatsoever. We did ask those questions,” Vargas said.

According to NBC San Diego, the spike in arrests began earlier this month, when volunteer observers said ICE agents detained at least 11 people. Over the following four days, that number grew to 44.

Among those detained were the parents of a U.S. Marine, who were first taken into custody while visiting their daughter at Camp Pendleton. They were released on ankle monitors, then told to check in with ICE a week later, where they were detained again.

An ICE spokesperson did not respond to questions about how many people are currently being held in the basement of the San Diego federal courthouse, NBC San Diego reported.

The agency said the building is a “well-equipped processing facility where all detainees are provided access to meals, water, snacks, telephones and the ability to contact their consulate or legal representation.”

Despite reports suggesting that people held in makeshift facilities like this one lack proper care and are detained for multiple days, ICE said it takes those factors into account.

“Individuals are held in this processing area for the minimum amount of time necessary to complete processing and determine the most appropriate housing location based on their specific needs,” the agency said in a statement. “Key factors such as medical requirements, removability status and available bed space are carefully considered to ensure the best possible placement.”