By Hannah Saunders
Beginning on August 12, over 140 immigrants who are being detained at Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) have gone on a hunger strike to demand humane treatment, including healthy food with protein and medical attention for sick people, particularly those with diabetes. Many people with diabetes rely on the hormone, insulin, and Type 1 Diabetics can die within 24-72 hours without insulin.
This hunger strike, which marks the 20th one at the immigration detention facility, comes after over 70 people went almost 24 hours without food. According to La Resistencia, the GEO Group has failed to provide food in a timely manner, and when people are finally served, it has been described as similar to “dog food.”
“Bad food, there’s no medicine. It’s nearly a month with pain in my molars, and they won’t help me,” one man in the camp said. “The food is in horrible condition. They don’t change the bedsheets. Everything is wrong here.”
Another man stepped towards the camera during a video call and said he is originally from Laos, and that the operators of the facility need to do a better job of feeding people at the NWDC.
“All we need is just food. We want food! We want food,” he said.
Another man from Iran said that some people enter the NWDC without any funds to purchase snacks and non-fresh foods from the commissary.
“Please get us out of here. I have a 10-month-old that depends on me,” he said. “I miss my family.”
La Resistencia stated that by 12 a.m. on August 12, over 140 people had not been provided dinner, and people in a video it obtained were heard crying out for food and help. La Resistancia is encouraging community members to contact elected officials to apply pressure and work to get people in the facility better treatment.
Contact Congresswoman Emily Randall at (360)373-9725 or Randall.house.gov/contact/email-me. Contact Senator Patty Murray at (253)572-3636 or Murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme. Reach out to Senator Maria Cantwell at (253)572-2281 or Cantwell.senate.gov/contact/email. People are also encouraged to call the GEO Group facility’s main telephone line at (253)779-6000.
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