Migrants Start 7th Hunger Strike At Tacoma Detention Center; Are They Safe?

Detained migrants at the North West Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, a city in Washington state, United States, have started their seventh hunger strike over the deteriorating condition of the facility.

The migrant workers are imprisoned at North West Detention Center (NWDC) – a privately-run detention center located on the tide flats of the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, owned by the huge Geo corporation – in the deteriorating condition.

According to a report by Workers World, the migrant workers have been demanding to be released. They have said, “End detention; end deportation.”

Migrants tortured at the North West Detention Center

Migrants at the North West Detention Center went on a hunger strike to protest poor living conditions. They were tortured and did not receive better access to medical and dental care. 

The migrants have been fighting for food, water, frequent haircuts, better access to medical and dental care, as well as hygiene.

The migrants have been receiving terrible quality of the food, which is dished out in very small portions. They are not getting enough heat to survive in the winter. 

COVID-19 is also spreading in the prison. Women detainees have been put in isolation because of the virus. They are also not getting adequate menstrual kits. 

Detainees have said that they won’t stop their protests and hunger strike until their demands are met. NWDC is the largest detention center in the Pacific Northwest, detaining about 1,500 migrants. Most migrants are waiting for a determination of their immigration status.

Most people lack medical treatment at the migrant detention facility. They have been suffering due to a hidden epidemic that jeopardized the physical health of migrants. They are conducting hunger strikes without access to clean water, without adequate food and air conditioning as well as without medical care.

Recently, the Washington Supreme Court, the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington, ruled that detainees being held at the Northwest Detention Center must be paid the state’s minimum wage for work they do while being detained.