TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - The Tacoma City Council has approved an emergency ordinance that would temporarily limit new or expanded correctional facilities in the city, including the federal immigration detention center.
The measure, introduced and passed Tuesday, targets any future expansion at the Northwest Detention Center. It’s an immigration detention center run by a private company on contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the News Tribune reported (https://goo.gl/VYucQb ).
The six-month interim rule limits where public correctional facilities can be located within city limits and bans new or expanded private prisons across the city.
In recent weeks, Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland and city council members have repeatedly expressed disapproval at having the federal detention center in Tacoma.
They have reaffirmed the city’s commitment as a welcoming city for immigrants and refugees but have not adopted a sanctuary city status for Tacoma in part, the mayor says, because of the detention center’s presence.
GEO Group, which operates the facility, has not announced plans to expand the facility, and city staff said they aren’t aware of any such plans. Because of President Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to aggressively deport those in the country illegally, some worry it could be a possibility.
The facility opened in 2004 with a 500 beds. It has since expanded capacity and now has 1,575 beds, making it one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S.
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Information from: The News Tribune, https://www.thenewstribune.com
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