Otay Mesa ICE Inmate Becomes First COVID-19 Death Among Detainees
By Sandra G. Leon
A man from El Salvador being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted the COVID-19 virus in the facility and died at a local hospital after being on a ventilator for nearly a week.
Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia, 57, who was being held at the Otay Mesa facility, had been was one of 202 detainees there that have tested positive for the deadly virus.
The first confirmed COVID-19 case among ICE detainees was reported in late March, and ICE reports that 674 detainees have tested positive of 1,346 that have been tested. Of those, 124 cases are at the Otay Mesa facility. In addition to the detainee cases, 39 ICE employees have tested positive, including 10 at the Otay mesa center.
Family members of an inmate at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center are demanding an investigation into what they called a murder inside the facility last month.
CoreCivic, which owns the Hartsville prison, confirmed the death in a press statement by Public Affairs Manager Ryan Gustin.
âAt approximately 2:07 a.m. (CST) on Thursday, December 17, Trousdale Turner Correctional Center staff discovered an unresponsive inmate. Staff immediately called a medical emergency. Facility medical staff immediately responded and begin administering emergency first aid and life-saving procedures. EMS responded to the facility, but the inmate passed away prior to being transported.
âFacility administrators notified the Tennessee Department of Correctionâs (TDOC) Office of Investigations and Conduct (OIC). A full investigation of the incident by the TDOC OIC is underway, and Trousdale Turner staff are cooperating fully,â the statement read.