TACOMA, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video originally aired Feb. 9.
A judge has ruled much of a Washington state law setting regulations for private for-profit prisons unconstitutional in a fight over conditions inside a federal detention center in Tacoma.
A preliminary injunction was granted Friday in a lawsuit filed over a Washington state law that imposed rules and regulations for detention centers. The law was meant to enhance state oversight over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, which is owned and operated by the private company, GEO Group.
Last year, Washington passed House Bill 1470, legislation allowing state agencies to conduct unannounced inspections on all of the state’s detention facilities. The state had previously banned all private detention centers in 2021.
The GEO Group sued the state over the legislation arguing it violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Benjamin H. Settle mostly agreed with the GEO Group's argument, essentially gutting the law.
"We are pleased by the Court's ruling and are committed to continue providing the federal government with contracted secure residential care services in accordance with all applicable federal standards," the GEO Group said in a statement.
Gov. Inslee's office told KING 5 they are still reviewing the ruling and have not yet made a decision on the next steps.
The detention center first opened in 2004, and advocates say problems emerged soon after, as detainees complained of poor conditions inside.
“They say the water is not good, the conditions are not good, the treatment is not good,” said Wendy Pantoja of La Resistencia, and advocacy group that works with the detainees.
Eventually, the state decided to take a look. Court documents said inspectors from the Department of Labor and Industries found safety violations on multiple occasions over the years.
But even after the new law passed, inspectors from the Department of Health and Labor and Industries have been turned away at least six times since last November.
“The question always comes back: what is it that they’re trying to hide? Why the lack of transparency? Why do they continue to lock their doors to everyone else going inside?” asked Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self, who sponsored the bill. “That is very concerning. That is very concerning, and the fact that they know that we’re trying to get in, and they refuse, and the complaints continue. It’s not like they’ve stopped since this law has come into effect, but rather, they continue, and they have increased.”