OLYMPIA, WA – Washington state lawmakers are again trying to increase transparency at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. This for-profit immigrant detention center has faced multiple lawsuits.
House Bill 1232, sponsored by Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self, aims to expand the definition of private detention facilities. The bill would include facilities run by non-profit groups. The GEO Group, which operates the Tacoma center, has fought the state’s oversight efforts in court. They claimed previous legislation unfairly targeted them.
“If they had nothing to hide, they would have opened their doors,” said Ortiz-Self.
The Northwest ICE Processing Center is the only privately run adult detention facility in Washington. GEO operates the center under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Martin Hall Juvenile Detention Facility near Spokane, which is non-profit, would also be covered under the new bill.
Ortiz-Self hopes this bill shows the state isn’t targeting just one facility.
“It’s very simple: if you do business in Washington, you should uphold basic human standards,” Ortiz-Self stated.
She added, “We would pursue any other private detention facility, but we don’t have any others.”
The bill would also change the standards the state enforces at these facilities. It sets new penalties for violations and makes inspection results public.
GEO did not respond to requests for comment.
The bill is being debated as President Trump pursues strict immigration policies.
The Northwest ICE Processing Center is the largest immigration detention site in the region, holding about 1,575 people. It has faced complaints of human rights violations for years.
The University of Washington Center for Human Rights has documented claims of medical neglect, sexual assaults, tear gas use, and unsafe conditions. Detainees have held hunger strikes, and there have been reports of attempted suicides.
In 2021, the Washington Legislature tried to force the center to close. However, they had to reverse course after a court ruling against a similar California law.
Since then, legal battles have focused on a 2023 Washington state law (House Bill 1470). This law intended to give state agencies the power to inspect private detention centers.
Following a court fight, workplace inspectors from the Department of Labor and Industries were able to inspect the Northwest ICE Processing Center last year.
However, GEO and the state still disagree on whether Department of Health inspectors should have access.
“We want the Department of Health and Human Services to be able to go into that facility and make sure that human beings are okay,” Ortiz-Self said.
The bill revises required facility standards. For example, House Bill 1470 required prohibiting solitary confinement and mental health evaluations. It also mandated providing new clothing upon arrival. House Bill 1232 removes this language but adds new rules. These include procedures to reduce the spread of diseases and more detailed food service rules.
Ortiz-Self said the proposed standards align with those for psychiatric hospitals.
The bill would also allow the Department of Health to fine facilities up to $1 million for not fixing problems found during inspections. The money would fund department training or technical assistance for the facilities.
Ortiz-Self believes this legislation is about protecting human rights.
“We don’t hear of that number of hunger strikes in our prisons,” she said, noting the frequency of such protests at the Tacoma center. “We have a right to ask what is going on, and when the answer is ‘you can’t come in,’ it makes us really suspicious.”
The state’s power to regulate a facility involved in federal immigration enforcement has been central to ongoing lawsuits.
Disputes over these issues continued Friday in a lawsuit related to House Bill 1470. The state and GEO presented arguments before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Even before Trump took office, the U.S. Department of Justice sided with GEO against the state law.
Similarly, some lawmakers oppose the new bill, arguing the detention center is a federal facility and not a state issue.
“We would not have the health department go on to a military base to inspect the base; this is something we feel is similar,” said Jenny Graham, a Republican from Spokane.
If the bill fails, Ortiz-Self said she and her colleagues would continue trying to regulate the facility.
“If GEO thinks we will stop and simply accept defeat, I hope they realize after three attempts that we will not relent,” she said.
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