Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma Washington
February 7, 2018

Following a work stoppage by detainees employed in the kitchen on February 7, over 120 detainees launch a hunger strike on February 9 in protest of abuses by guards, food quality issues and other conditions. In retaliation for the hunger strike, guards beat detainees and put them in solitary confinement. NWDC was the site of at nine hunger strikes in 2017, according to the group Northwest Detention Center Resistance.

“Te Amo My Love Victor” is written on the glass of a visitation booth window (Photo Source: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer)

Citations:

“Tacoma, Washington: ICE Detainees Begin Hunger Strike“, Democracy Now!, February 9, 2018.

“Detainee beaten, held in isolation after joining hunger strike, lawsuit states“, The News Tribune, February 23, 2018

“Northwest Detention Center Hunger Striker Released After 20 Days in Solitary,” Seattle Weekly, March 2, 2018.

“Here’s Why Anti-ICE Protesters Blocked Downtown Traffic This Morning”, The Stranger, June 5, 2018.

NWDC Resistance Facebook post, February 9, 2018.

Background:

“PHOTOS: A rare look inside Tacoma’s immigration jail“, KUOW, July 11, 2017.

“Detainees Launch Another Hunger Strike at Tacoma Immigrant Detention Center to Protest Facility Conditions”, The Stranger, August 11, 2017.