TACOMA, Wash. — Washington’s Attorney General Nick Brown has filed a preliminary injunction against GEO Group, the company running the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after state health inspectors have been denied access to investigate claims of “horrid conditions and practices” for detainees.
“They’ve attempted to enter GEO’s private facility to look into these complaints 10 times. Guess what’s happened? They’ve been turned away all 10 times,” Governor Bob Ferguson said.
The Attorney General’s Office says they’ve received over 3,500 complaints in the past few years regarding the conditions inside the facility.
The complaints range from poor drinking water, rotten food, and air quality to detainees being sexually assaulted as well as not receiving proper medical and mental care inside.
“So we hear the stories and we share the challenges that we see and the conditions that we hear about,” Malou Chavez with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project said.
KIRO 7 reached out to the GEO Group for comment on the lawsuit.
A spokesperson told us to reach out to ICE about the matter, yet the lawsuit specifically targets them. KIRO 7 pointed that out in our response back, but we are still waiting for GEO Group to reply.
Governor Ferguson stated this isn’t the first time the company has been sued by the state. He says in 2016, when he was Attorney General, he sued the company, which was then ordered to pay $23 million. Ferguson stated in Tuesday’s press conference that the company is still fighting to pay and believes they will also fight these claims.
“Look, do they have the legal right to appeal that all the way to the Supreme Court? Sure. Do I think it indicates their willingness to follow state law? No, it does not,” Ferguson said.
Attorney General Brown also pointed out that if the company doesn’t have anything to hide, then they’ll let state health inspectors in.
“The GEO group has said those are largely false; [so] the best way to prove that is to open it up. Give transparency. Prove these people wrong and prove their advocates wrong. If you are doing everything above board, then show us. Be honest about it,” Brown said.
KIRO 7 also reached out to ICE for comment and is still waiting for that response.
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