by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
April 8, 2026
Washington state health inspectors have been trying for months to enter the Tacoma immigrant detention center amid longstanding concerns about the conditions there.
A federal appeals court ruling last summer paved the way for them to get in, but the private facility’s operator is still denying access, state officials say.
Officials from the state Department of Health tried to inspect most recently on March 20, according to the agency. The GEO Group, which runs the detention center, turned them away. This was the ninth unsuccessful inspection attempt since 2023.
In this case last month, GEO told state inspectors they needed to file a request with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Seattle to access the Northwest ICE Processing Center, according to the state. The Department of Health submitted this request Friday. It hadn’t heard back, as of Tuesday afternoon.
“GEO Group is obstructing our efforts to inspect the Northwest ICE Processing Center,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “The law is clear. We are going to do what it takes to get our health inspectors into that facility.”
A GEO spokesperson deferred to ICE to comment on access to its facility. ICE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
For years, the 1,575-bed detention center has faced scrutiny. This includes allegations of medical mistreatment, abuse and neglect, and concerns about water quality and food. The Department of Health said it has received more than 3,500 complaints about the detention center, which holds detainees before deportation or release back into the United States.
Fears of overcrowding due to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown add to the concerns.
Last August, the health department seemed on its way to getting access to the site after a ruling from a panel of judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision invalidated a lower court ruling that blocked a 2023 state law that Florida-based GEO Group has been fighting in court for years.
The law sought to mandate greater oversight of the for-profit facility. Among other requirements, the law called for GEO to provide fresh fruits and vegetables, air conditioning and heat, free telecommunication services, weekly mental health evaluations and rooms with windows.
State officials were anxious to get in after the appellate ruling.
“I am super frustrated that we know that there’s people who are hurting and we haven’t been able to help problem-solve what’s happening there,” Lauren Jenks, the Department of Health’s assistant secretary for environmental public health, said at the time. “People in a detention center like this are among the most vulnerable people in Washington, and who’s looking out for them?”
In February, GEO asked the appeals court to rehear the case and pause enforcement of the court’s order as it prepares a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for review. The court denied both of those requests.
The court’s ruling formally took effect early last month. GEO has until mid-May to file with the nation’s high court.
GEO is already asking the justices to take a look at another case from Washington state. The company is appealing a $23 million verdict it faces in a lawsuit over its minimal pay of detainees who did work like janitorial tasks and laundry at the Tacoma detention center.
This year, Democrats in the state Legislature considered several measures aiming to further hold GEO to account. One would’ve fined the company for not allowing health inspectors inside. Others sought to impose a tax surcharge on it, and another looked to get more information about issues in the facility. None of the proposals became law.
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