TACOMA, Wash. — Surrounded by high fences and barbed wire sits the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.
The detention center, operated by the privately-run company GEO Group, 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.
Last year, Washington passed HB 1470, legislation that gave state agencies the authority to conduct unannounced inspections on all of the state’s detention facilities.
But even with the new law in place, 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.”
The GEO Group filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that the facility falls under federal jurisdiction.
A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit last November.
As the legal battle continues, advocates say detainees continue to suffer under worsening conditions.
“Some of the detainees describe this area as an area where people can be tortured,” Pantoja said. “Some of the detainees who were previously in jail say the Tacoma detention center is worse than the jail.”
GEO Group sent KING 5 a statement that says the company does not comment on pending litigation, but it looks forward to fully addressing all issues that have been raised by both sides in Court. Meanwhile, the Department of Health says it will continue to send inspectors to attempt to gain entry to the facility.