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"It's rare that I feel so powerless to change something in my community and my district," Gonzalez, a Democrat, said.
"These are human beings," she added. "We don't have mass deaths, but we know where this is going."
She said if Otay Mesa weren't a detention facility, society would be calling for it to close immediately over its handling of the virus's spread within its walls.
Otay Mesa Detention Center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, currently has the highest number of cases among immigrant detainees in the nation, and the facility has helped push its zip code to the highest count of cases in the county.
As of Friday evening, at least 111 people in custody had tested positive for the virus at Otay Mesa, according to facility documents obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Of those, 67 are detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, meaning that they are not being held for criminal reasons but rather are waiting for immigration court cases or to be deported. The other 44 are US Marshals Service inmates who are in criminal custody.
According to the documents, 17 CoreCivic staff and eight medical staff had also tested positive for the virus. ICE's website says that eight of its employees at the facility have tested positive. It's not clear whether that includes any of the medical staff.
When Gonzalez and the family member of someone inside tried to carry the boxes of masks to Otay Mesa's entryway, they were stopped by a guard in a van and sent back to the edge of the parking lot. Gonzalez tried to call the warden and his assistants, but the person who answered the phone wouldn't connect her to them, she said.
Leaving the masks behind, Gonzalez went inside. About 10 minutes later, she walked back out. She hadn't been allowed to speak to any of the building's officials.
Gonzalez said she plans to keep trying to donate the masks.
ICE and US Marshals Service did not respond to requests for comment on the donations in time for publication. CoreCivic deferred to ICE.
ICE and CoreCivic have said that they are following national guidelines to care for people held at Otay Mesa.
Detainees and those who advocate for them have been complaining for weeks that the facility is not doing enough to protect them.
At first, they didn't receive any protective gear. When they did get masks, they came with contracts that many refused to sign. Later, the detainees were given masks anyway.
They are disposable surgical masks. Many say they've been wearing one for weeks with no replacement.
Amanda Gilchrist, a spokeswoman for CoreCivic, said, "New masks have been handed out," when asked about the issue.
Detainees say they don't have enough soap and that they don't have enough space to keep at least 6 feet from each other.
"This is ICE and CoreCivic's responsibility, and they are failing," said Mindy Pressman of Otay Mesa Detention Resistance, one of the groups that helped gather masks.
Soon after the advocates left, several sheriff deputies arrived. One of the patrol cars parked inside the gate of the facility to watch for any further activity.
"These are human beings," she added. "We don't have mass deaths, but we know where this is going."
She said if Otay Mesa weren't a detention facility, society would be calling for it to close immediately over its handling of the virus's spread within its walls.
Otay Mesa Detention Center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, currently has the highest number of cases among immigrant detainees in the nation, and the facility has helped push its zip code to the highest count of cases in the county.
As of Friday evening, at least 111 people in custody had tested positive for the virus at Otay Mesa, according to facility documents obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Of those, 67 are detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, meaning that they are not being held for criminal reasons but rather are waiting for immigration court cases or to be deported. The other 44 are US Marshals Service inmates who are in criminal custody.
According to the documents, 17 CoreCivic staff and eight medical staff had also tested positive for the virus. ICE's website says that eight of its employees at the facility have tested positive. It's not clear whether that includes any of the medical staff.
When Gonzalez and the family member of someone inside tried to carry the boxes of masks to Otay Mesa's entryway, they were stopped by a guard in a van and sent back to the edge of the parking lot. Gonzalez tried to call the warden and his assistants, but the person who answered the phone wouldn't connect her to them, she said.
Leaving the masks behind, Gonzalez went inside. About 10 minutes later, she walked back out. She hadn't been allowed to speak to any of the building's officials.
Gonzalez said she plans to keep trying to donate the masks.
ICE and US Marshals Service did not respond to requests for comment on the donations in time for publication. CoreCivic deferred to ICE.
ICE and CoreCivic have said that they are following national guidelines to care for people held at Otay Mesa.
Detainees and those who advocate for them have been complaining for weeks that the facility is not doing enough to protect them.
At first, they didn't receive any protective gear. When they did get masks, they came with contracts that many refused to sign. Later, the detainees were given masks anyway.
They are disposable surgical masks. Many say they've been wearing one for weeks with no replacement.
Amanda Gilchrist, a spokeswoman for CoreCivic, said, "New masks have been handed out," when asked about the issue.
Detainees say they don't have enough soap and that they don't have enough space to keep at least 6 feet from each other.
"This is ICE and CoreCivic's responsibility, and they are failing," said Mindy Pressman of Otay Mesa Detention Resistance, one of the groups that helped gather masks.
Soon after the advocates left, several sheriff deputies arrived. One of the patrol cars parked inside the gate of the facility to watch for any further activity.
