Jayapal Statement on Inspection of Northwest Immigrant Processing Center

SEATTLE, WA - U.S Representative Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, released the following statement after inspecting the Northwest Immigrant Processing Center (NWIPC), formerly the Northwest Detention Center, in response to reports of inhumane conditions experienced by those detained at the facility:

"I spent over an hour at the Northwest Immigrant Processing Center with top Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) management of the Center. I appreciated their response to my inquiries about the facility and the concerning issues we have heard. My visit reinforced my belief that we must fundamentally change our approach to immigrant detention, a detention system that has been outsourced largely to private, for-profit prison companies that have too little accountability and too much incentive to simply fill beds and use up taxpayer dollars. Instead, we should be transitioning to a humane, accountable, redesigned detention system that is operated by the federal government and staffed by qualified, unionized federal employees instead of private for-profit prison companies.

"As President Biden himself said in 2023, 'There should be no private prisons, no private detention centers.' However, approximately 91% of immigrants remain in detention centers run largely by two for-profit companies, GEO and CoreCivic (formerly the Corrections Corporation of America) that have raked in $1 billion and $552 million respectively from ICE in just 2022. That is why, after my visit, I am re-upping my call to the Biden Administration to issue an executive order to phase out the use of private for-profit detention centers. I will also continue my work to pass my Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which would establish standards for accountable care for detained people to create a truly civil, humane system and prioritize community-based alternatives for those who need support in successfully navigating their immigration case.

"During my visit, I reiterated my request that the review of Charles Daniels' death be released immediately. Once the report is released, I will review it and work on any necessary follow-up to this case and to prevent future deaths."

"Unfortunately, I was not permitted to speak directly with detained people during my visit. I remain deeply concerned about reports from detained people about conditions and will continue to closely monitor the facility and engage with federal officials about my concerns."

Earlier this year, Charles Leo Daniel died in custody at the NWIPC after spending 1,418 days in solitary confinement, and in 2018, another detained person at the facility died by suicide. Detained people at the facility have consistently been forced to resort to hunger strikes to protest conditions, including allegations of medical neglect, unsafe food, and unsanitary conditions among other complaints.

Jayapal has been a leader in efforts to end the use of private, for-profit detention centers and to instead utilize alternatives to detention. She has led multiple calls to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to urge the closure of facilities with records of abuse and has also worked to push accountability and transparency at many of these facilities. Her visit today follows a meeting with the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security and long-standing oversight efforts over the Northwest Detention Center.

She is also the lead sponsor of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, transformative legislation that would end the use of for-profit, private detention facilities and protect the civil and human rights of immigrants.

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