Inside Tacoma’s ICE Detention Center: Worm-Infested Food, Suicide, Neglect
At the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, thousands of complaints have been lodged by immigrant detainees regarding dangerous living conditions: abuse, inedible food, prolonged isolation, and medical neglect.
Despite more than 3,500 complaints being submitted to the Washington State Department of Health, GEO Group, operating the facility under a contract with ICE, has repeatedly refused to admit state inspectors.
Opened in 2004, the facility formerly known as the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) has a stated bed space capacity of 1,575 people – one of the largest immigration prisons in the country.