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TACOMA, Wash. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has responded to a lawsuit from Washington state, saying that health officials have no legal authority to enter certain areas of the Northwest ICE Processing Center.
The backstory:
Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown announced back in April that they filed a legal request to force the GEO Group, which operates the facility, to let state health inspectors inside.
The request comes after health officials were denied entry to the ICE Processing Center 10 different times since 2023, and have reportedly received more than 3,500 complaints from detainees over food, water, and air quality, along with access to medication and physical abuse.
What they're saying:
ICE Seattle issued a statement Monday stating that while stakeholders can request visits, the "sole authority" for granting access to the secure side of the Tacoma facility rests with the federal government.
ICE Seattle's full statement can be read below:
"While the National Detention Standards establish a process for external stakeholders to request visits to detention facilities, access to the secure side of the facility remains under the sole authority of U.S. Immigrations and Customers Enforcement (ICE). All requests for entry to secure areas are subject to ICE review and approval. In this instance, ICE has not permitted or authorized the State of Washington Department of Health to conduct inspections within the facility, especially in areas that are federally operated. Access to and oversight of these secure areas are exclusively managed by ICE, and state officials have not been authorized to inspect or enter federally controlled portions of the facility."
The other side:
Governor Bob Ferguson called ICE's response "ridiculous," pointing to state law that mandates routine, unannounced inspections of private detention facilities.
Big picture view:
In the legal request directed at the GEO Group, it's argued that the company is subject to state oversight because it chose to operate a business within Washington's borders, regardless of its federal contract.
The GEO Group, which operates the facility under a multi-million dollar federal contract, has declined to comment on the litigation, deferring all questions to ICE.
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The Source: Information in this story came from social media posts from Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and ICE Seattle, and previous FOX 13 Seattle reporting.