Governor Ferguson, Attorney General Brown seek court order to permit health inspections at Northwest ICE Processing Cent

https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/governor-ferguson-attorney-general-brown-seek-court-order-permit-health

Governor Ferguson, Attorney General Brown seek court order to permit health inspections at Northwest ICE Processing Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Apr 28 2026
Health inspectors attempting to investigate thousands of complaints have been turned away 10 times

TACOMA — Today, Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown announced legal action against The GEO Group, the private company that owns and operates the Northwest ICE Processing Center. The action asks the court to order The GEO Group to allow inspectors from the state Department of Health into the immigration detention facility to ensure it is following state law, and to investigate the more than 3,500 complaints from detainees about conditions in the facility.

Department of Health inspectors have been turned away 10 times, including twice since an appeals court affirmed the agency’s authority to inspect the facility. Since 2024, two people have died while detained at the Tacoma facility, and six more have attempted suicide.

“The law is clear: We have the legal authority to inspect private detention centers in our state,” Governor Ferguson said. “GEO Group has continued to obstruct our efforts to conduct these critical health inspections. That is unacceptable. We’ve beaten GEO in court before, and we’ll beat them again.”

“GEO Group is not above the law: they must allow health inspectors to inspect the Tacoma facility,” said Attorney General Brown. “Washington law helps bring accountability and transparency to otherwise opaque private detention facilities. The fact that GEO Group resists basic health and safety inspections and refuses to follow the law should trouble all Washingtonians.”

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