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Bill would let state inspectors enter privately run detention facilities; advocates cite conditions at northwest ICE Processing Center
Summary
Witnesses testified in favor of House Bill 12-32 to authorize state health inspections of privately run detention centers in Washington, citing reports of overcrowding, poor hygiene, suicides, strikes and denial of access to the Department of Health at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (GEO Group).
The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony on Substitute House Bill 12-32 on March 24, which would require privately run detention facilities operating in Washington State to comply with state health and safety standards and allow the Department of Health and other state agencies to inspect and enforce those standards.
Multiple witnesses — including immigrant-advocacy groups, legal services organizations and local officials — described serious conditions at the privately operated Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, run by the GEO Group, and urged the committee to pass the bill to allow state agencies to inspect private detention…
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