TACOMA, Wash. — Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown announced legal action Tuesday against The GEO Group, seeking a court order to allow state health inspectors into the Northwest ICE Processing Center after being turned away 10 times.
The motion asks the court to order the private company to permit inspectors to investigate more than 3,500 complaints from detainees about conditions inside the Tacoma facility. Two people have died while detained since 2024, and six more have attempted suicide.
“The law is clear: We have the legal authority to inspect private detention centers in our state,” Ferguson said. “GEO Group has continued to obstruct our efforts to conduct these critical health inspections.”
“GEO Group is not above the law: they must allow health inspectors to inspect the Tacoma facility,” Brown said.
Detainees reported contaminated food containing burned plastic, metal string, hair and worms. One complaint detailed how detainees were served raw meat for dinner, causing 15 people to become sick the next day.
At one point, only two working bathrooms served approximately 100 people. Some detainees reported being victims of abuse and sexual assault.
Ferguson previously won a case against GEO Group for paying detainees only $1 per day for work. A federal jury ordered the company to pay $23.2 million in 2021.
Washington state passed legislation in 2023 allowing health inspections of private detention facilities. Despite court orders affirming this authority, GEO Group continues refusing inspectors’ access.
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