<p>State labor officials uncovered no violations during a recent inspection of the immigration detention center in Tacoma, but noted ongoing limits to what they can monitor at the privately operated facility. </p>
<p>The inspection of the Northwest ICE Processing Center, operated by GEO Secure Services, included a review of the physical facility, health and safety policies, and personal protective gear. Cascade PBS obtained a copy of the <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25475210-labor-industries-health-inspection-of-northwest-ice-processing-center/”>health</a> and <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25475209-labor-industries-safety-inspection-of-northwest-ice-processing-center/”>safety reports</a> through a public records request.</p>
<p>A state Department of Labor & Industries inspector gained access to the facility in July, said John Korzenko, compliance manager for the agency’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Both L&I and the Department of Health have sought to inspect the Processing Center – the only one of its kind in Washington – after the state Legislature passed a bill in 2023 aimed at regulating private detention facilities. </p>
<p><em>This story is part of Cascade PBS’s <a href=”https://crosscut.com/WA-Workplace-Watch” target=”_blank”>WA Workplace Watch</a>, an investigative project covering worker safety and labor in Washington state.</em></p>
<p>But enforcement of the bill quickly led to multiple lawsuits, with GEO arguing that the bill discriminates against the company as the only private detention facility and that the state cannot regulate it as a federal contractor. </p>
<p>GEO’s facility administrator twice denied inspectors entrance, saying that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had directed him to deny entry, according to court documents. L&I sought a warrant in court to inspect workplace conditions, and U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle <a href=”https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.331040/gov.uscourts.wawd.331040.50.0.pdf”>granted the agency access in mid-2024</a>.</p>
<p>DOH officials separately filed suit for, but have not won, access for intended inspections of water and air quality, food standards and sanitation of the facilities.</p>
<p>The Processing Center has faced numerous allegations of mistreating detainees. More than 100 detainees staged a <a href=”https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2023/11/17/immigrant-detainees-resort-to-hunger-strikes-in-protest-of-conditions-at-tacoma-facility/”>hunger strike in late 2023</a>, and many activists continue to call for the facility to be shut down completely. The <a href=”https://jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/projects/human-rights-at-home/conditions-at-the-northwest-detention-center/”>University of Washington Center for Human Rights documents detention conditions in the center</a>, including allegations of medical neglect, unsanitary environments and use of tear gas.</p>
<p>The GEO Group referred all questions to ICE. An ICE spokesperson declined to comment on matters related to ongoing litigation. </p>
<strong>Limits on monitoring</strong>
<p>The safety and health inspections found no violations, according to public records. The L&I inspector interviewed nine employees ranging from a detention officer to a cook, but no detainees.</p>
<p>“All employees interviewed said they received comprehensive safety and health training upon their initial hire and annually thereafter,” the inspection report stated. “Employees described being given and using appropriate PPE for the individual work tasks they perform.”</p>
<p>Korzenko explained L&I cannot inspect detainee conditions unless they are working.</p>
<p>”We’re strictly observing for workplace safety hazards for employees,” he said. “That’s the only jurisdiction we have.”</p>
<p>The detention center used to have a voluntary work program, but in late December 2023, the Washington Supreme Court found that GEO Secure Services <a href=”https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2023/12/22/immigration-facility-cant-pay-detainees-1-a-day-for-labor-wa-supreme-court-rules/”>violated state minimum wage law</a> when it paid detainees $1 per day for work. GEO appealed the decision, and the case is now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.</p>
<p>But even if detainees had been working, Korzenko said, L&I still would not be able to review conditions not tied to working, such as medical treatments or living conditions. Their scope is limited to safety and health concerns related to the work.</p>
<p>While the inspector found no violations, employees mentioned some issues related to workplace safety, including concerns about active shooters and other workplace violence. Notes from one interview cited employee concerns — like the “process to report issues is long and difficult” — as well as broader hazards such as mold growth in cells and discharging a firearm accidentally. </p>
<p>L&I has cited GEO Secure Services for violations in the past. In September 2020, <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25475217-win-wish-cnn-317959381-sept-24-2020/”>L&I fined the company $48,000 for nine violations</a> related to safety concerns for a trash compactor. A few months later, they were <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25475215-win-wish-cnn-317960904-feb-19-2021/”>fined an additional $16,500 for issues related to masking</a>, including using expired filters and improper cleaning. The next year, in February 2020, they were<a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25475216-labor-industries-inspection-of-northwest-ice-processing-center-feb-16-2022/”> fined $6,600 for not having eye washing stations</a> where hazardous chemicals are being used.</p>
<strong>Other inspections</strong>
<p>The Washington Department of Health similarly seeks to inspect the facility largely sparked by the bill passed in 2023 to regulate it. The agency was denied access in July 2024, and <a href=”https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.337832/gov.uscourts.wawd.337832.1.1.pdf”>filed a lawsuit</a> against the company to compel GEO Secure Services to allow them entry.</p>
<p>DOH remains in litigation, arguing that they have a right to inspect the facility under the same authority they have to inspect any facility that constitutes a public health risk. </p>
<p>The agency said they have <a href=”https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.337832/gov.uscourts.wawd.337832.1.1.pdf”>received more than 700 complaints about the NWIPC</a>, including “unsanitary bathrooms, dirty water, poor air quality, COVID outbreaks, animal-grade food quality, and a spate of suicides,” according to court documents.</p>
<p>Arguments are scheduled for Feb. 14 in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the ongoing DOH case. The agency had an earlier case that was voluntarily dismissed by both parties.</p>
<p>The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an organization focused on the Americas, conducted its own visit to the Processing Center to “monitor detention conditions,” according to a press release from Global Rights Advocacy, one of the involved organizations. The commission also met with current and former detainees, advocates and state lawmakers. </p>
<p>“Such visits to federal detention facilities are extremely rare, and it marked the first time an international human rights body has ever entered the NWIPC to monitor detention conditions,” a press release stated. “In 2020, the Commission issued a protection order due to dangerous conditions at the NWIPC; because serious problems persist, the decision was made to visit the facility in person.”</p>
<p>The 2023 bill — known as <a href=”https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1470-S2.PL.pdf?q=20241227144233″>House Bill 1470</a> — added regulations and oversight for the NWIPC, including stopping the creation of new private detention facilities, prohibiting treatments like solitary confinement and mandating inspections.</p>
<p>GEO Secure Services sued the state over the bill. In a March decision on that suit, Judge Settle <a href=”https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.324255/gov.uscourts.wawd.324255.35.0_1.pdf”>largely sided with GEO</a>, noting multiple sections of the bill that the court found to be discriminatory of the Processing Center. But the case is still in litigation after the state appealed the case.</p>
<p>L&I does not currently have any scheduled inspections for the Processing Center, but will conduct another inspection if the agency receives complaints. </p>
Article continues below
Related Stories
<p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/cascade-pbs-investigates” hreflang=”en”>Cascade PBS Investigates</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/washington-workplace-watch” hreflang=”en”>Washington Workplace Watch</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/immigration” hreflang=”en”>Immigration</a></p>
Source