2mo ago

PNW Members of Congress pay surprise visit to Tacoma immigrant detention center

www.seattletimes.com

Members of Congress pay surprise visit to WA immigrant detention center

"Democratic U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Emily Randall of Washington and Maxine Dexter of Oregon said they showed up unannounced...."

"GEO Group, the private corporation that runs the facility " ...

used to be called 'Wackenhut', founded as a 'security company' in 1954 that became infamous in California decades ago.

4 comments

They're not even getting sunlight? And this is the medical specialty detention center?
Fucking hell, why haven't we ridden in and broken the fucking gates yet???
Who is supposed to have the authority to shut this down?
- Nick Brown, WA's attorney general. This is a private prison in the state. It is not built on federal lands, so it is under Washington's jurisdiction.
Some more stats on private prisons
" Of the 1.2 million people in federal and state prisons, 8%, or 90,873 people, were in private prisons as of year end 2022."
" Under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there is an average of 28,289 people held daily in immigrant detention, and it is estimated 79% of this population is held in privately run facilities. "
( source: Feb 2024: https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/private-prisons-in-the-united-states/ Many of source's internal stats are older. )
In 2021 WA ( with 11 open state prisons now) passed a law banning private prisons; Looks like Tacoma, the last one, is supposed to be shut down this year ...
"when the GEO Group’s contract comes to an end in 2025. Crucially, the law will also prevent any other private facilities from opening in the future." -- www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2021/may/1/washington-state-governor-signs-bill-banning-private-prisons-statewide/ [2021]
Looks like that old expected closure date is part of a battle by GEO to keep it open:
May 12, 2025 news - https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2025/05/12/tacoma-ice-facility-washington-oversight-law