Rep. Salinas Conducts Oversight Visit of Tacoma Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facility
Tacoma, WA — Today, Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Tacoma to ensure ICE is treating detainees humanely and honoring due process.
“When my constituents are taken by ICE, many of them are taken here. I’ve heard many stories of how ICE is not following the law or honoring due process, so I needed to come see for myself to hold ICE accountable. From my visit, it was abundantly clear that ICE is lying. They are not being transparent about their treatment of detainees or their efforts to honor due process. If we cannot expect ICE to tell the truth to a Member of Congress, how can we expect them to tell the truth to the American people?
“During my visit, I spoke with representatives from ICE and from GEO Group, the contractor who operates the facility. I questioned them directly about issues I’ve heard about from detainees and immigration attorneys, including detainees not being able to access medical care and their attorneys.
“When I asked about detainees not being able to access medication, facility officials told me that the constituents I spoke to may have lied. They claim that anyone can get the medical care they need; however, I know of at least one of my constituents who was detained and was not able to access the heart medication he needed.
“Additionally, when questioned about the tuberculosis outbreak in the Alaska detention facility, ICE claimed news reports got it wrong. When questioned if similar outbreaks happened in Tacoma, ICE flat out lied, saying there were no instances of the disease. However, an immigration attorney I spoke with contradicted this, saying there had, indeed, been cases of tuberculosis there.
“When I asked about detainees not being able to access their attorneys, facility officials told me that detainees have access to tablets that they can use to speak with an attorney and that there are rooms in the facility available for attorneys to meet with their clients. When I visited the facility today, I met an immigration attorney who represents several of my constituents who are detained there. Despite her having meetings scheduled with my constituents, ICE canceled her appointments last-minute due to lack of facility space. Additionally, I have heard numerous stories of attorneys having their meetings suddenly canceled because their client is moved to a different facility, making it nearly impossible for attorneys to speak with their clients.
“After today’s visit, I still have many lingering questions. I need to know exactly what kind of training ICE officers receive. I need to know exactly what they are taught about the law and people’s constitutional rights. I need to know why they arrest first and ask questions later—which has resulted in them arresting U.S. citizens and minors. And I need to know why lawyers are not able to locate their clients in ICE’s detainee tracker.
“ICE did not have answers for me today. They told me to ask Kristi Noem and Tom Homan. That’s exactly what I’m going to do when I get back to Washington, D.C.
“I will not allow ICE to continue operating without oversight and with complete disregard for due process.”
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