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To: Tacoma City Council

Detention Centers Are Not Correctional Facilities!

This campaign has ended.

As the Washington State Attorney General noted on September 20, “These detainees are part of civil immigration proceedings. They are not in jail. They are held in a private facility, run by an out-of-state, for-profit corporation.” The Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) is not a correctional facility, and should not be regulated as such.

Why is this important?

On May 4, 2017, GEO Group filed a complaint against the City of Tacoma, claiming that the NWDC is a correctional facility, and should be granted preferential treatment as an "essential public facility." On September 20, 2017, the State of Washington filed suit against GEO Group for violating minimum wage laws, noting that the NWDC is not a correctional facility. We call on the City to acknowledge this legal distinction and call on GEO Group to respect city, state and federal laws.
Tacoma, WA

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Updates

2018-03-27 22:59:23 -0400

Since April 2017, NWDCR has ensured that GEO Group did not pass into law its claim that it runs a ‘correctional facility,’ not an immigrant detention center. On February 27, 2018, Tacoma City Council unanimously agreed with us – and they changed the municipal code! Let’s celebrate this victory – a wrench in the immigration machine – even as we recommit to dismantling ICE and ending immigrant detention in Tacoma, and everywhere else.

Our victory has GEO Group running scared. On March 22, they sued the City of Tacoma to have this ordinance invalidated. We know that when we fight, we win, and we will continue fighting to protect our victory, until we shut down the NWDC. We are grateful to have you in this fight.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2018-03-25/immigration-detention-center-operator-sues-city-of-tacoma

2017-10-02 15:36:02 -0400

100 signatures reached

2017-09-30 12:35:27 -0400

50 signatures reached

2017-09-29 19:21:57 -0400

25 signatures reached

2017-09-29 16:20:12 -0400

10 signatures reached