‘When we allow abuse and violence to fester we’re all unsafe’: KIRO hosts call for accountability at Tacoma ICE facility as judge orders inspections

A federal judge ruled last week that the Northwest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Tacoma must allow inspections, The Washington State Standard reported. The order goes into effect on July 23, giving the GEO Group, the private company that runs the Tacoma facility, time to appeal.

KIRO host Ursula Reutin and KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell agreed that the facility needs to be held accountable.

“I think the punishment is the prison sentence, and when we allow abuse and violence to fester for anybody, we’re all unsafe. It’s not good for any of us,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “And I think you need better systems so that people can report these things and folks can be held accountable.”

Ursula said she doesn’t think prisons should be privately run.

“I mean you’re looking at a for-profit company that is going to do everything it can to make maximum profits at the expense,” she explained.

Washington governor, attorney general sue group that runs Tacoma ICE facility after 3,500 complaints

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and Washington State Attorney General (AG) Nick Brown announced in April that they were suing GEO Group after Washington State Department of Health (DOH) inspectors were turned away 10 times, despite more than 3,500 complaints alleging unsafe food, medical neglect, and unsanitary conditions at the detention center, according to Brown’s office.

“The fact that this company has defied the law for the last three years is absolutely unacceptable,” Angela said.

“Unacceptable,” Ursula responded. “And bottom line, you don’t have to agree with someone’s immigration status to believe that they deserve clean water, medical care, and basic human dignity, and I think that we have to just keep reminding ourselves of that too.”

ICE responds to lawsuit, saying DOH did not follow procedures

ICE responded in May to the lawsuit, saying DOH did not follow procedures to request access to the facility.

“Had they done so, there would have been no need for this lawsuit since they would have received access to inspect the facility,” an ICE spokesperson told KIRO Newsradio via email. “They cannot just show up unannounced and expect to be let in.”

However, Mike Faulk, Deputy Communications Director for the Washington AG’s Office, told KIRO Newsradio the department followed the procedures. Faulk cited documents showing Labor and Industries, along with local food inspectors, have conducted announced visits at GEO Group’s facilities for decades.

“GEO cannot pick and choose which state inspectors it allows into its facility or which state laws it must comply with,” Faulk stated via email.

He added that surprise inspections are required under state law.

“Unannounced inspections are what the state law explicitly requires,” Faulk stated. “It seems ironic that ICE would have a problem with unannounced enforcement activities.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.