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Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Court overturns injunction blocking Washington state from regulating immigration detention center
Aug 19 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned an order blocking Washington state from enforcing a law intended to boost oversight and improve living conditions at the state's only privately run, for-profit immigration detention facility. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, opens new tab that a lower-court judge wrongly held that a state law imposing new requirements on Geo Group's (GEO.N), opens new tab Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Tacoma was inconsistent with federal law. "This is an encouraging outcome in the fight for basic health and safety standards at private detention facilities," said Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. "We are still reviewing this opinion and potential next steps." Geo's lawyer, Dominic Draye of Greenberg Traurig, did not respond to a request for comment. Geo owns, manages or leases more than 100 correctional facilities, immigration detention centers and treatment facilities nationally. Its center in Tacoma has about 1,575 beds and is among the largest such facilities in the country. Washington's law, which the Democratic-led state adopted in 2023, requires Geo's center to provide nutritious food in a clean and safe facility. It also authorized inspections related to these requirements and the assessment of monetary penalties. Geo sued state officials two months after the law took effect, claiming it was being singled out while Washington spared state-run facilities from tighter oversight. The company argued that by doing so, the state law ran afoul of the so-called doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, a principle derived from the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause that generally prevents states from directly regulating the federal government or discriminating against it. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma last year agreed, saying the law impermissibly discriminates against Geo by imposing burdens on the federal contractor's center that do not apply to state-owned prisons. But Senior U.S. Circuit Judge William Fletcher, writing for the panel, said state prisons holding criminals were the wrong comparison and that instead Geo's center should be assessed against private facilities holding civil detainees. "GEO asks us to ignore the critical fact that inmates in Washington's prisons have been convicted of crimes, and that the conditions of their confinement are part of a penal regime," Fletcher wrote. "By contrast, none of the detainees held in the NWIPC has been convicted of — or even charged with — a crime." That difference matters because, while Geo's center is the only such facility that could be regulated under the statute in question, the law could still be held to be valid if state law treats similarly situated entities in the same manner. Fletcher cited the existence of two residential treatment facilities in Washington where people could be held involuntarily in a similar fashion. The 9th Circuit panel sent the case back to Settle to reassess the question based on a comparison to private facilities. Fletcher's opinion was joined by U.S. Circuit Judges Ronald Gould and Jacqueline Nguyen. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. The case is The Geo Group Inc v Inslee, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-2815. For Geo Group: Dominic Draye of Greenberg Traurig For Washington: Marsha Chien of Washington State Attorney General's Office Read more: Judge blocks tighter Washington state oversight of immigration detention center
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Huge Setback for Trump With Alligator Alcatraz Already Flooding
Florida's much-hyped ICE detention center cannot even keep the rain out. Videos from the so-called Alligator Alcatraz, which President Donald Trump visited on Tuesday to mark its opening, show that the center had standing water on its first day of operation. Florida officials claim the facility, situated in the middle of the muggy, naturally flooded Everglades, is sturdy enough to withstand winds of a Category 2 hurricane, despite its exterior being a tent. Those claims are sure to be scrutinized after a local news reporter, Jason Delgado of Spectrum News 13, captured footage of water seeping into the tent, onto electrical cables, and around flagpoles. There was no hurricane or severe thunderstorm brewing outside—just typical summer showers that much of the state experiences daily this time of year. RainDrop's website estimated that about a quarter of an inch of rain fell on Tuesday at the city of Ochopee, which is closest to the tent. The rain could be heard clearly in Delgado's videos, and the ceiling appeared to rattle with each drop that struck it. The Florida Division of Emergency Management told Spectrum that it has taken steps to address the flooding that was experienced on Tuesday. 'Overnight, the vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal,' said the spokeswoman, Stephanie Hartman. The facility, which bizarrely has its own merch sold by Florida Republicans, has been slammed as 'dehumanizing' and not safe for detainees. Migrants are expected only to be housed temporarily at the site before being removed from the country, says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has been described as the architect of Trump's migrant crackdown, scoffed at suggestions that the massive tent is dehumanizing. Despite it being filled with bunk beds that are separated by internal fences, in the middle of a literal swamp, he said it is not at all overkill for people who entered the United States illegally in search of a better life. 'What's 'dehumanizing' is when American citizens are stripped of their rights and their liberties by the invasion of illegal aliens,' he told Fox News on Tuesday. 'What's 'dehumanizing' is when Democrats let illegal alien rapists into the country to attack our children. That is 'dehumanizing.''
The Standard
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Standard
Trump to visit 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention center this week
Florida's National Guard members stand at the entrance of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport as people rally against the state's forthcoming "Alligator Alcatraz" ICE detention center in Ochopee, Florida, U.S. June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Teen detained by ICE after traffic stop describes ‘nightmare' conditions in Aurora facility
DENVER (KDVR) — A teenager detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on June 5 is now free and speaking out about the conditions she faced while in the Aurora contract facility. Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, of Utah, was pulled over on June 5 after a Mesa County deputy witnessed her pulling in front of a semitruck, causing the driver to have to use their brakes. Goncalves was released with a written warning from the traffic stop. She also told the deputy during the traffic stop that she's been living in Utah for over a decade, but was born in Brazil. Mesa County Sheriff's Office addresses ICE use of drug, traffic stop information Shortly after the traffic stop, Goncalves was detained by ICE agents and taken to ICE's contract detention facility in Aurora, run by the GEO Group. The Mesa County Sheriff's Office said that it had deputies included in a 'communication group' that also included federal law enforcement. The group was intended to be used for drug interdiction efforts. On Friday, a 19-year-old University of Utah student and scholar was released from the Aurora facility after posting bond. On Monday, she released a statement detailing the 15 days of confinement that she endured after she was detained. Goncalves said the 15 days in ICE detention were the 'hardest of my life,' and said she felt scared and alone while inside. 'I was placed in a system that treated me like I didn't matter. In detention, we were given soggy, wet food – even the bread would come wet,' Goncalves wrote. 'We were kept on confusing schedules. And the moment they realized I spoke English, I saw a change. Suddenly, I was treated better than others who didn't speak English. That broke my heart. Because no one deserves to be treated like that. Not in a country that I've called home since I was 7 years old and is all I've ever known.' The 19-year-old thanked her friends and family for fighting for her release, as well as organizations and senators who made calls on her behalf. 'And even to the ICE officer who detained me — he kept apologizing and told me he wanted to let me go, but his 'hands were tied,'' Goncalves wrote. 'There was nothing he could do, even though he knew it wasn't right. I want you to know—I forgive you. Because I believe that people can make better choices when they're allowed to.' She said that she hopes no one else has to endure the same conditions, but noted that there are over 1,300 people inside the Aurora GEO Group facility facing 'that same nightmare.' 'They are just like me — including other people who've grown up here, who love this country, who want nothing more than a chance to belong,' Goncalves wrote. Gaby Pacheco, CEO and President of said that Goncalves' detention was likely illegal, and called the matter 'not just a policy failure. It is a moral one.' Anti-ICE slogan posted on construction sign in Denver 'We are hurting our nation—and our very soul—when we target immigrant youth this way. One traffic stop. One unlawful arrest. And a lifetime of trauma. Enough is enough,' Pacheco said. Pacheco noted that Goncalves' detention drew headlines from around the U.S. Goncalves said she is now focusing on moving forward from the incident, but won't forget the matter. 'Immigrants like me—we're not asking for anything special. Just a fair chance to adjust our status, to feel safe, and to keep building the lives we've worked so hard for in the country we call home,' Goncalves wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
21-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Mahmoud Khalil speaks after being released from ICE detention center
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released on bail on Friday from a Louisiana ICE detention center, more than three months after he was arrested outside his apartment on Columbia University's campus. The judge found Khalil is not a flight risk or a danger to public safety, saying it's 'highly unusual' to be seeking his detention at this point.
