Lashing out at the legal limbo those locked up inside of it face, protesters demonstrated outside of Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) on Feb. 13. Activists object to facility conditions, and rally on the second Saturday of each month at noon. Food and beverages are provided to detainee visitors, while protestors picket the facility and provide information about NWDC to the public.

NWDC, which opened in 2004, houses a mix of illegal immigrants who are awaiting immigration status or are being processed for deportation, as well as illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and served sentences in local, state or federal prisons.

“The nature of the facility has changed substantially from when Tacoma City Council, on an initiative led by then City Councilmember Kevin Phelps, actively courted the business,” activist Tim Smith said.  

“Far from being a ‘temporary facility’ where approximately 250 immigrants would remain for one or two days, the facility has morphed into one of the largest facilities in the entire U.S. detention network, and will eventually have a population as large as McNeil Island Penitentiary.”

Smith estimates that of the approximately 1,000 detainees, about 60 percent have no criminal record. Most are economic refugees, commonly referred to as illegal immigrants, who have entered the United States without due process. These individuals are largely driven by financial motives - they want only to come to the United States to find gainful employment. Some detainees cannot be deported because the United States does not hold repatriation agreements with their countries of origin.

Of the remaining 40 percent, a very small percent have committed violent crimes. Those who have committed non-violent crimes should be released if they are able to post a reasonable bond, or are candidates for home detention, Smith said.

NWDC is operated under a contract agreement between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the federal Homeland Security Department, and GEO Group, Inc. GEO is a for-profit corporation that provides private correction and detention facility management services around the world.

According to a Homeland Security/ICE commissioned report titled “Immigration Detention Overview and Recommendations” authored by Dr. Dora Schriro, and dated Oct. 6, 2009: “ICE operates the largest detention and supervised release program in the country. A total of 378,582 aliens from 221 countries were in custody or supervised by ICE in fiscal year 2008; activities in 2009 remain at a similar level. On September 1, 2009, ICE had 31,075 aliens in detention at more than 300 facilities throughout the United States and territories, with an additional 19,169 aliens in Alternative to Detention programs. Of the aliens in detention on Sept. 1, 66 percent were subject to mandatory detention and 51 percent were felons, of which, 11 percent had committed violent crimes. The majority of the population is characterized as low custody, or having a low propensity for violence.”

Smith emphasized detainees are not provided with legal representation under federal immigration law, and can rarely afford to fund their own. Furthermore, their entire bond must be posted in order for release, which is often not an option for detainees and their families. Arrests are not necessarily public knowledge, and court files are not made public. The system of administrative law applied to illegal immigrants is very different than the due process of law provided United States citizens.

Privileged detainees are provided the option of working in the NWDC for wages of $1 a day. A phone call costs $1 a minute, so detainees must work five days to make a five-minute phone call. Furthermore, each working detainee replaces a regular employee, resulting in substantial cost savings for GEO, said Smith. “GEO receives approximately $110 per day per person; however it only costs GEO approximately $50 a day to house someone, showing just how profitable the private prison business is these days. GEO stock closed up on Friday at $19.34.”

Smith explained NWDC is currently expanding to house 1,575 individuals. Construction has taken over the previous outdoor recreation area. In each “pod” there is a small open-air courtyard, which is covered by grating. Violent criminals are in lock-down 23 hours a day in what is called the Secure Handling Unit. “Some have been in the unit since 2004 and may never return to their home countries because those countries will not take them back,” Smith said. “About 200 persons are released from the facility every month, right in Tacoma, just another procedure that was not supposed to happen. Many of these persons will return to their homes here in the United States, but others become wards of the local community and rely on the support of various faith-based and non-profit groups for their support.”

NWDC is built on a landfill that may become unstable in the event of an earthquake, and is located in a flood zone. Additionally, it is located next to a number of propane storage tanks, further contributing to its unsafe location. NWDC is required to provide the city of Tacoma an evacuation plan, which they have failed to do. “This may not be solved at the national level, but as a city, we can take this on. Every one of us has a responsibility to make sure people are held in safe conditions,” Smith remarked. “Where does this company intend to evacuate 1,500 people, how is it going to transport them, and doesn’t the neighborhood where they will be evacuated to have a right to know?”

A group of activists travelled from Olympia to join those who gather every month. Together, they shifted their demonstration to downtown. After regrouping at the University of Washington-Tacoma, they marched up Pacific Avenue to Murray Morgan Bridge. Tom McCarthy, another activist, noted this location was chosen because it overlooks the detention center and is a traditional spot for protests.

NWDC is located at 1623 E. ‘J’ St. on the Tideflats. For more information about ICE and NWDC, visit www.ice.gov/pi/dro/facilities/tacoma.htm. For more information on GEO Group visit www.thegeogroupinc.com.

Family and friends of detainees can place funds in their commissary accounts. For more information visit www.icsdeposits.com/index.html. To contact Smith, send e-mail to mr_tjsmith@hotmail.com.