Employee at immigrant detention center on Tacoma Tideflats tests positive for COVID-19
An employee at an immigrant detention center on the Tacoma Tideflats has tested positive for COVID-19, according to its contracted operator, The GEO Group.
The employee at the Northwest ICE Processing Center is quarantining at home, GEO said Thursday in a statement.
“Where they will remain until meeting the return-to-work guidelines for essential workers issued by the CDC,” GEO said.
No detainees currently at the facility have tested positive for the coronavirus-caused disease, a U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) official told The News Tribune on Monday. The official did not say if any detainees were in quarantine.
GEO and ICE have been accused of lax safety measures regarding COVID-19 at the Tacoma facility. The immigration rights group La Resistencia is holding a forum on the subject Thursday outside the facility.
“We strongly reject these baseless allegations which are being instigated by politically motivated outside groups and are based on a false narrative and deliberate lies about our role as a long-standing government services provider,” GEO said in the statement.
The center has a capacity for 1,575 adults, ICE said during a 2019 media tour. There are approximately 380 employees at the facility.
GEO said the pandemic has created what it called unprecedented challenges, but the private company has taken extensive measures to keep staff and detainees healthy.
Medical services at the facility are provided by ICE, GEO said.
ICE said medical decisions are made by medical staff, not law enforcement.
“Staffing for detainees includes registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, licensed mental health providers, mid-level providers like physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and a physician,” ICE said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
