Block on Tacoma ICE facility inspections may soon be lifted

Washington state health officials may be on the verge of winning a yearslong fight to gain access to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

The Washington State Health Department has been trying to get into the center to investigate complaints about the conditions there. Federal officials and the private company that runs the site have blocked those efforts thus far, but a recent court ruling could change that.

Lauren Jenks is the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Public Health at the state health department. She told KUOW’s Angela King about the latest facility’s latest happenings.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Angela King: What kind of complaints have you heard coming from within the facility?

Lauren Jenks: We have heard about problems with the drinking water, that maybe it has an off color to it or some sediment in it. We've heard issues about some of the health care. We've heard complaints of physical violence and sexual assault, which we've referred back to the Tacoma Police Department. We've heard problems about the food and clothing, and overall unhealthy conditions in the facility.

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And it is important for health inspectors to get inside?

It's absolutely important. Some of the things that may be causing an issue may be obvious to anybody who walks in there, but some of the things really might take sort of a technical eye to figure out the connection between what's happening, what people are experiencing, and maybe the maintenance of the facility, or something like that. So, to have a health inspector in there not only points out the things that are going wrong but can help come up with the solutions to it as well.

You've tried to get into the facility before. What happened?

We have been there eight or nine times now. We are able to walk into the building, and we see a security team at the front desk, and we tell them that we're there from the health department and we're here to inspect or we're here to respond to complaints, whatever we're doing that day. And we sign in. They give us name tags. We go sit in the waiting area, and eventually the administrator comes down and lets us know that we're not getting entry today, and we leave and document it and try again later.

What's it been like for you to find yourself on the outside trying to look in?

Well, that is a frustrating position to be in. We know that we have the legal responsibility and the ethical responsibility to make sure that people in Washington are being taken care of in a healthy and humane way. And when we hear indications that that may not be happening, and we're not able to get in and find out what's happening and help to solve those issues, it is a frustrating position.

The GEO Group, which operates the facility, got a judge to bar a state law that required the inspections, but an appeals court overruled that order. What still has to happen for you to gain access to the detention center?

As our lawyers have explained to me, there is still a technical step that needs to happen from the appeals court. We need to get a mandate that documents that decision and officially removes the injunction that we had that was keeping us from going in there, and when that comes through, we will attempt once again to enter under that authority.

Any idea how long that might take?

I don't really know. I kind of thought it would have happened already, but I don't know all of the details that have to go into this from the court perspective. But I certainly hope it happens in the next month or so.

What is your plan when you do get inside? Will you be talking to detainees? Will you be looking for those things you've heard complaints about?

One part of the law that we haven't talked about yet is that it gives us the authority to do rule-making, and that rule-making will list out the things that we're looking for in an inspection, and also penalties, so that will all be documented. We're in the process of finishing that right now. As soon as we are able to get access to the facility, we will be looking to respond to complaints, and we will start with drinking water.

Is there anything else you think our listeners should know about what's going on in the facility, and the people being held there?

This is really the most vulnerable group of people who live in Washington right now, right? To me, that makes it extra important that somebody looks out for them and makes sure that while they are here and while they're being detained, they're being treated in a safe and healthy way.

We did reach out to the GEO Group for comment on this story. They've yet to respond to our request.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.