Civil rights groups cite Ramadan complaints, thousands of detainee concerns as state struggles to gain access TACOMA, Wash. — Washington state won a federal court battle allowing health inspections at the Tacoma ICE detention center, but state officials say inspectors still haven’t been allowed inside. Advocacy groups say the delay is preventing investigations into complaints from detainees, including concerns about religious accommodations, food, and medical care. The dispute centers on the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, run by private contractor GEO Group. Complaints spike during Ramadan For years, Sabrene Odeh says her organization has received calls from detainees inside the facility. But during the holy month of Ramadan, she says those complaints increased. “We're getting calls left and right from the detention center,” Odeh said. Muslim detainees reported being served non-halal food and being forced to fast longer than required due to irregular meal schedules, according to advocacy groups. Odeh says maintaining religious practices is especially important for detainees. “Just having the ability to practice your faith… in such an unstable situation… takes our community so much further,” she said. Those complaints are exactly what Washington lawmakers intended to address when they passed a 2023 law allowing the Department of Health to inspect private detention facilities. After years of legal challenges, a federal appeals court ruled in Washington’s favor last November, clearing the way for inspections. But according to the Washington State Department of Health, inspectors have attempted to enter the facility nine times since 2023 and were denied each time. The most recent attempt came March 20, 2026, when inspectors expected to gain entry following the court ruling, but were turned away again. The GEO Group told the inspectors to ask ICE for entry permission. They said they filed a request with ICE, but haven't heard back. Advocates say the continued denial raises accountability concerns. “They absolutely should be held in contempt of the court,” said Josefina Mora-Cheung with La Resistencia. “There should be fines as well imposed for this; like any other business, they should be able to go in and inspect.” La Resistencia says it has documented more than 2,000 complaints from detainees in 2025 alone and submitted them to the Department of Health. The Department of Health said it has received a total of 3,500. Federal contract renewed amid inspection dispute At the same time, federal records show Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently awarded GEO Group a new contract worth up to $69.1 million to continue operating the Tacoma detention center. The contract, posted on SAM.gov, allows GEO Group to continue providing detention housing and services at the Northwest ICE Processing Center. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has also criticized the company, accusing GEO Group of obstructing inspections. “GEO Group is obstructing our efforts to inspect the Northwest ICE Processing Center,” Ferguson said in a statement. “The law is clear. We are going to do what it takes to get our health inspectors into that facility.” Both La Resistencia and CAIR-WA say they plan to continue pushing for inspections and increased oversight. “These are all of our constituents… it could be a lot of our family members that could be in the detention center,” Odeh said. KING 5 reached out to both ICE and GEO Group for comment. GEO Group deferred to ICE, and ICE had not responded at the time of publication.