Washington Officials Take Legal Action to Force ICE Detention Center Health Inspections After Repeated Denials

Washington state officials are escalating their fight to hold private ICE detention centers accountable. Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown filed a motion Tuesday seeking a court order to force The GEO Group to allow state health inspectors into the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The move comes after the company denied access to inspectors 10 times despite mounting complaints about inhumane conditions.

The motion demands that GEO Group permit investigations into over 3,500 detainee complaints. These allegations include contaminated food laced with burned plastic, metal fragments, hair, and worms. One detainee reported being served raw meat, which sickened 15 people the following day. Sanitation is abysmal, with as few as two working bathrooms for around 100 detainees. Abuse and sexual assault claims have also surfaced.

Two detainees have died in custody since 2024, and six have attempted suicide, underscoring the urgent need for oversight. Washington passed legislation in 2023 explicitly granting health inspection rights at private detention facilities, and courts have upheld this authority. Yet GEO Group continues to defy the law.

Governor Ferguson emphasized, "The law is clear: We have the legal authority to inspect private detention centers in our state. GEO Group has continued to obstruct our efforts to conduct these critical health inspections." Attorney General Brown added, "GEO Group is not above the law: they must allow health inspectors to inspect the Tacoma facility."

This legal battle follows a previous victory against GEO Group, when a federal jury ordered the company to pay $23.2 million in 2021 for underpaying detainees just $1 per day for their labor.

The ongoing refusal by GEO Group to comply with inspection demands highlights the dangerous lack of transparency and accountability in the privatized immigration detention system. Washington’s officials are now pushing the courts to enforce the law and protect detainees’ basic rights and safety. This case could set a critical precedent for oversight of for-profit detention centers nationwide.