Immigrant Detention - Report
Human Rights Violations at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma
July 2008
This report, the first in-depth study of conditions at theNorthwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, is a collaboration of the Seattle University School of Law International Human Rights Clinic and OneAmerica (formerly Hate Free Zone). Findings of the report include the following and more:
- Overcrowding with double the number of detainees beyond what the facility was originally designed for. It is also designed for short term stays while detainees are held up to 4 years
- Violations of international law and due process violations
- Guard and federal marshal misconduct
- Inadequate access to medical care, especially emergency care
- Poor food quality and low quantity to maintain detainee health
- Inadequate treatment of the mentally ill
A recent New York Times article listed 66 detainees who died in immigration detention across the country. One of those detainees died at the age of 42 from "coronary artery disease" at the NWDC. The full circumstances of Jesus Cervantes-Corona's death in 2006 have not been disclosed.
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