Washington state says Geo Group refuses to let health inspectors into detention facility

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state on Tuesday asked a federal judge to force private prison operator The Geo Group to allow health inspectors into its for-profit immigration detention center in Tacoma, which has been the subject of thousands of complaints from detainees in recent years.

Inspectors with the Washington Department of Health have repeatedly been denied entry to the Northwest ICE Processing Center, where Geo Group detains immigrants under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Gov. Bob Ferguson told a news conference outside the facility Tuesday. The detention center holds up to about 1,600 people pending their deportation cases.

In 2023, Washington passed a law asserting its “broad authority to enforce generally applicable health and safety laws against contractors operating private detention facilities.” Geo sued to challenge it, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law; Geo has until June 11 to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Despite the mandate of the court and the seriousness of the problem, The Geo Group continues to defy our law by refusing to admit DOH inspectors,” Washington A...