Health inspectors attempting to investigate thousands of complaints have been turned away 10 times
 TACOMA — Today, Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown announced legal action against The GEO Group, the private company that owns and operates the Northwest ICE Processing Center. The action asks the court to order The GEO Group to allow inspectors from the state Department of Health into the immigration detention facility to ensure it is following state law, and to investigate the more than 3,500 complaints from detainees about conditions in the facility.
Department of Health inspectors have been turned away 10 times, including twice since an appeals court affirmed the agency’s authority to inspect the facility. Since 2024, two people have died while detained at the Tacoma facility, and six more have attempted suicide.
“The law is clear: We have the legal authority to inspect private detention centers in our state,” Governor Ferguson said. “GEO Group has continued to obstruct our efforts to conduct these critical health inspections. That is unacceptable. We’ve beaten GEO in court before, and we’ll beat them again.”
“GEO Group is not above the law: they must allow health inspectors to inspect the Tacoma facility,” Attorney General Brown said. “Washington law helps bring accountability and transparency to otherwise opaque private detention facilities. The fact that GEO Group resists basic health and safety inspections and refuses to follow the law should trouble all Washingtonians.”
Read the motion here. Video of the event is available here, and photos are available here.
Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, the number of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased by 70%. Just last month, ICE reported that 46 people have died in their custody or at detention facilities they contract with since the start of the second Trump Administration — the highest in two decades.
Complaints paint a picture of neglect and cruelty
The more than 3,500 complaints about GEO’s Tacoma facility paint a stunning portrait of neglect and outright cruelty: medical emergencies ignored, contaminated food, unsanitary conditions and even assault by staff. Detainees have complained that the food provided has contained burned plastic, metal string, rope, splinters, hair and worms.
Detainees reported that the food “appears rotten, has been served on dirty trays, and contains bugs.” One complaint reported that “[y]esterday for dinner, they served us raw meat. You can see the blood inside the meat. Many of us in the unit [54 people] chose to throw it away, but others made the decision to still eat it because they were hungry. Today, around 15 people woke up sick due to the food from last night.”
On drinking water, one detainee said: “The water tastes disgusting, it does not taste like normal water you usually drink, which makes sense because all the staff here bring in their own water bottles because they know the water here is not safe to drink.”
A recent complaint stated that at one point there were only two working bathrooms for around 100 people. The people detained at GEO’s facility have also reported they cannot meet their basic personal hygiene needs because GEO Group denies access to clean, dry clothes.
One person reported that a “few days ago, I asked them to change my boxers, and they brought me ones that were dirty and belonged to someone else. The socks are also used and smell bad.”
There are reports that sheets are not washed after someone has been sick with an infectious disease such as chicken pox or Covid.
One individual reported being admitted to the hospital for a medical emergency, but when he was released, GEO staff refused to give him the medication he was prescribed. Instead, they gave him ibuprofen, allowing his condition to get worse.
Some individuals detained at the facility have reported being victims of abuse and sexual assault. One individual reported that she was a victim of abuse three times. She said she was depressed, and scared that it could happen again.
GEO Group’s history of legal violations
As Attorney General, Governor Ferguson brought a case against GEO Group alleging they were unlawfully paying detainees to perform work at the facility for only $1 per day. That case was consolidated with a private case. In 2021, following a trial, a federal jury determined that GEO Group violated Washington’s minimum wage laws and ordered GEO to pay $23.2 million in the two cases.
Attorney General Brown has continued to pursue the case through GEO’s appeals. In January 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s decision, finding GEO exploited detainee workers and unjustly enriched itself through unlawful labor practices. GEO is seeking review before the United States Supreme Court.
Law affirms state’s authority to ensure health and safety
In 2023, Washington state passed a law (HB 1470) setting basic health and safety standards for private detention facilities and allowing DOH to conduct unannounced health and safety inspections of these facilities. GEO Group has been attempting to defy this law ever since. Initially, a judge blocked many of the provisions of this law from taking effect.
In August 2025, the Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction that blocked HB 1470 and its amendment HB 1232 from taking effect, and in March 2026, issued an order that formally lifted that injunction. That order meant that GEO Group — like all private detention facilities — was now subject to Washington’s health and safety standards and DOH was allowed to inspect GEO’s Tacoma facility. However, in defiance of the law, GEO Group has continued to refuse DOH inspectors access to the facility, most recently on April 20. The AG’s office has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to stop GEO Group from refusing to admit the inspectors.
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