Senator Cantwell: Shut Down NWDC!

Two weeks ago today on March 7, 61-year-old Charles Leo Daniel from Trinidad and Tobago died inside the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). He had been detained there for nearly four years; nearly all that time was solitary confinement. Since his passing there have been at least 6 suicide attempts, multiple medical emergencies, and a fire that broke out in the laundry room in the industrial driers where advocates who had called the fire department witnessed guards force detainees back inside the burning building. In addition, advocates believe that the large numbers of deportations and transfers of immigrant prisoners out of NWDC since the death of Mr. Daniel are an attempt to eliminate specific witnesses of his death and the other multiple attempted suicides.

The Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma is one of the largest for-profit immigrant detention centers in the country, run by a corporation called GEO Group. Its conditions have been documented as being extraordinarily inhumane, and people inside NWDC on average spend more time in detention, have less chance at receiving bonds, and are placed in solitary confinement longer than any other ICE detention site. Detainees have organized 10 hunger strikes to protest the inhuman conditions in the past year and multiple others going back at least a decade. Hundreds of detainees went on hunger strike in response to Mr. Daniels’ death, at one point reaching over 300 people on hunger strike inside NWDC.

La Resistencia and Tsuru for Solidarity met with Senator Murray and Cantwell’s staffers on Tuesday, March 19th afternoon to discuss immediate action needed to close Northwest Detention Center. Leaders from both organizations have committed to an indefinite hunger strike until Murray and Cantwell make a public statement. Murray released a statement on March 20th but Senator Cantwell’s staffers gave no date for when they might make a public statement on this death.

It's been 2 weeks since Charles Leo Daniel's death. The medical examiner has not released their report. Why is it taking so long for the medical examiner to release his report? Mr. Daniel was a Black immigrant detained in solitary confinement. There is not an expectation that anyone will care about his death.

This recent string of events reveals the importance and the urgency to shut down the detention center now.

Senator Cantwell: Shut Down NWDC!

Thank you for sending a letter to Senator Maria Cantwell and joining La Resistencia and Tsuru for Solidarity in urging a SHUT DOWN of NWDC!

Here are our demands, which you can incorporate in your letter.

Conduct an independent investigation completed by April 7th, one month after the death of Mr. Daniel
Release a public statement from offices immediately
Come to Northwest Detention Center and speak to hunger strikers
Decrease funding for ICE and end the contract for NWDC
Conduct a Congressional hearing

Note: Below is a sample email to send to Senator Cantwell's office. We reccomend that you add your own personal connection and share why it's important to you that we acheive a shut down of NWDC.

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

We'll notify your representative

Dear Senator Maria Cantwell:

Your Letter *

I write to ask your help in closing the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) run by ICE and GEO Group in Tacoma, WA. Conditions are so bad inside that recently, 61-year-old Charles Leo Daniel was found dead after suspected suicide. He was in solitary confinement for four years at NWDC – the longest we have on record in the history of ICE custody. Since his death, there have been six two additional suicide attempts and numerous medical emergencies. At one point, more than 300 people detained inside were on hunger strike, 226 people remain on hunger strike inside NWDC. As a part of a 24hr a day protest outside NWDC, nine other people have gone on hunger strike including an indefinite hunger strike by La Resistencia founder, Maru Mora Villalpando, and Tsuru for Solidarity founder, Michael Ishii.

It has been weeks since Charles Leo Daniel died in ICE custody. We still haven’t heard from your office on the matter. We still have no answers from the Pierce County medical examiner. We have no assurances that an investigation will be independently conducted. We demand more transparency and more accountability from ICE and GEO Group. We demand a Congressional hearing and the immediate closure of this facility to end the harm being done to human beings and human rights within their walls. We ask you to help us in achieving these goals.

NWDC holds the record for longest stays in solitary confinement, the highest rate of isolation cell use and the lowest rate of release on bond among all ICE detention sites in the U.S. Conditions inside are so bad that people detained often demand to either be immediately released to family or be immediately deported rather than stay in NWDC another day. The Washington State Legislature passed HB1470 last year, empowering the Department of Health to do unannounced inspections to assess whether conditions meet the minimum standards of Washington state law pertaining to such things as food quality, sanitation, environmental safety, and labor standards. Since taking effect in May 2023, ICE and GEO Group (the private, for-profit contractor operating NWDC) have refused to allow DOH inside to do these inspections and a federal judge recently ruled in favor of ICE and GEO to allow them to continue denying access. ICE and GEO Group should not be allowed to flaunt state laws and regulations. They should not be allowed to use torture (prolonged isolation is recognized as a form of torture by international human rights bodies) as punishment to those organizing inside NWDC. They should not feel free to provide substandard care or arbitrarily withhold services to those they hold in detention.

I demand a full and complete shut down of Northwest Detention Center and immediate release of all detained inside. I demand ICE end the use of solitary confinement and more transparency and more accountability from ICE and GEO Group. I demand that you end funding for ICE and CBP in this budget and each following and instead invest in education/housing/healthcare in our communities. Shutting down NWDC is the only way to end the harm being done to human beings and human rights within their walls. I demand you to help us in achieving these goals.

Sincerely,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here]

Email Opt In

I would like to stay informed about La Resistencia and Tsuru for Solidarity Hunger Strike for NWDC and other Mijente campaigns.

Leave this field blank

This campaign is hosted by Mijente. We will protect your privacy, and keep you informed about this campaign and others.