Six members of Congress demand ‘answers and investigation’ after Otay Mesa detainee’s death

Days after the midterm election gave them commanding control of Congress, six Democratic lawmakers are calling for “a thorough and transparent” investigation into last month’s death of a 43-year-old man at an immigration detention center in San Diego. 

Guillermo Pascual Verganza, originally from Guatemala, was pronounced dead by medical personnel on Oct. 24, nearly an hour after Otay Mesa Detention Center staff found him unresponsive in his cell and tried to wake him. 

The man was the 30th person to die in immigration detention this year. 

U.S. Reps. Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas — all reelected to new terms as part of San Diego County’s congressional delegation — and California’s two U.S. senators — Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff — issued a press release Friday calling for the Department of Homeland Security to review whether detention staff followed “appropriate policies, procedures, and standards of care” before Pascual Verganza’s death.

“This includes examining the medical attention and monitoring provided to Mr. Verganza during his detention, as well as the circumstances of his placement in a safety cell and the facility’s response to the emergency,” they wrote.

Their letter ended, “Without complete and accurate information, Congress cannot fully assess whether existing policies, procedures, and safeguards are sufficient to protect individuals in federal custody.”

An autopsy was performed on Pascual Verganza’s body on Oct. 26, but the cause of death and circumstances of his death remain under investigation. 

In a press release three days after his death, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the man who died in their custody had been deported from the U.S. three times and had a criminal history. ICE initially identified the man by another name. 

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office later verified the man’s name after identifying his body through fingerprints and matched that information against his Guatemalan passport. 

inewsource published a three-part investigation earlier this year which revealed allegations from dozens of immigrants who described deteriorating health and inadequate care at Otay Mesa Detention Center. The investigation also found a higher-than-expected number of ambulance calls for seizures. 

A former detainee and Type 1 diabetic described care to inewsource that that medical experts said was “potentially life threatening.”

The members of Congress asked that “any relevant findings and information” gleaned from the investigation be provided by Nov. 13.