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Company files permit to expand Otay Mesa detention center

Posted at 6:26 PM, Jun 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-19 21:26:30-04

OTAY, Calif, (KGTV) -- A construction company has filed a permit requesting to make an expansion to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. 

JE Dunn Construction Company filed the permit on June 11th.  

The permit request comes at a time when the Trump administration is under fire for his zero-tolerance policy of separating children from their parents in detention. 

The company Build Zoom provided the permits to 10News. Build Zoom gathers construction data to help people find the best contractors and architects. 

The facility's expansion would add a two-story, 66,477 square foot building to the facility and 512 beds. 

Construction would cost roughly $6.2 million dollars.  

Core Civic is the private operator of the detention center. In a statement, a spokesperson told 10News the expansion was in the works since 2015 when the facility was built and not in response to current immigration policies. Adding that core civic does not house any children without parental supervision. 

ICE told 10News they were not aware of any recent expansion plan at the Otay facility. 

This expansion also comes months after the president said border crossings were down as a result of his tougher policies. 

However, according to Border Patrol statistics from January to May, border crossings in San Diego are up by approximately 28%.