SAN DIEGO, California — Sen. Alex Padilla said he observed concerning conditions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in downtown San Diego on Friday morning, Oct. 23, during an unannounced oversight visit, Daylight San Diego reported on Oct. 24. Padilla also announced the visit himself in a video posted the same day, saying he went to demand answers about how people are being treated and whether their rights are being respected.
Source: Daylight San Diego, Oct. 24, 2026
Around 8 a.m. at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, where ICE operates holding cells intended for short-term detention in the basement, Padilla observed poor light and a cell rendered unusable due to plumbing problems, according to spokesperson Edgar D. Rodriguez, Daylight San Diego reported. Rodriguez said the rooms did not seem appropriate to hold people for extended periods, as they lacked proper sleeping accommodations and showers, and supplies seemed rundown and outdated.
Source: Daylight San Diego, Oct. 24, 2026
Four people who had been brought there on Friday morning were detained in the facility during the visit, Padilla said, adding that he expected the numbers to rise through the day because of enforcement actions happening after school drop-offs. Padilla said he was not allowed to speak with any of the people detained there. Rodriguez said Padilla also raised concerns over accountability after learning that ICE contracts with private operators to provide services at the facility rather than managing them directly. ICE did not respond to Daylight San Diego's request for comment.
Source: Daylight San Diego, Oct. 24, 2026
Reports about conditions in ICE detention facilities and a recent increase in immigration arrests in San Diego County prompted the visit, Daylight San Diego reported. While ICE has not publicly acknowledged it, media outlets have reported an increase in immigration arrests in San Diego as part of a 45-day 'Operation Safe California' leading up to next month's midterm election, the report said. Padilla said his office has received a significant uptick in calls related to people being detained in the region, especially during school drop-offs, and said: 'It is not a focus on the worst of the worst as they so often claim to be.'