“Democratic U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Emily Randall of Washington and Maxine Dexter of Oregon said they showed up unannounced…”
"GEO Group, the private corporation that runs the facility " …
used to be called ‘Wackenhut’, founded as a ‘security company’ in 1954 that became infamous in California decades ago.
Some more stats on private prisons
" Of the 1.2 million people in federal and state prisons, 8%, or 90,873 people, were in private prisons as of year end 2022."
" Under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there is an average of 28,289 people held daily in immigrant detention, and it is estimated 79% of this population is held in privately run facilities. "
( source: Feb 2024: https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/private-prisons-in-the-united-states/ Many of source’s internal stats are older. )
In 2021 WA ( with 11 open state prisons now) passed a law banning private prisons; Looks like Tacoma, the last one, is supposed to be shut down this year …
“when the GEO Group’s contract comes to an end in 2025. Crucially, the law will also prevent any other private facilities from opening in the future.” – www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2021/may/1/washington-state-governor-signs-bill-banning-private-prisons-statewide/ [2021]
Looks like that old expected closure date is part of a battle by GEO to keep it open:
May 12, 2025 news - https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2025/05/12/tacoma-ice-facility-washington-oversight-law