Link: https://www.kuow.org/stories/federal-judge-orders-tacoma-ice-center-to-allow-health-and-safety-inspections

A federal judge has ordered the immigration detention center in Tacoma to allow Washington state officials access to conduct health and safety inspections. It’s the latest in a long-running fight between state officials and GEO Group, the private contractor that owns and operates the federal facility.

The judge’s order, issued Thursday, takes effect after two weeks. GEO Group is expected to file an appeal, though the company did not respond to a request for comment.

The Northwest ICE Processing Center is one of the largest detention facilities in the Pacific Northwest. For the past three years, it’s been locked in an ongoing court battle with the state and has repeatedly denied access to health inspectors. There have been over 3,500 complaints about substandard living conditions in the facility, alleging dirty drinking water, food containing bugs, black mold in the showers, sexual assault, and more.

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The order follows a request for an injunction filed by both Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown in April. The order would allow health inspectors to enter the detention facility, with the exception of administrative and medical areas.

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The Trump administration said in a memo last summer it would pursue detention of all immigrants found illegally in the country, not just those with a criminal history. The administration currently has some of the highest numbers of people being held in detention centers across the country in U.S. history.