OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Legislature has approved a bill aimed at shutting down one of the country’s largest for-profit, privately-run immigration jails.
Led by majority Democrats, the state Senate voted 28-21 in favor of the measure that would ban for-profit detention centers in the state.
The measure already passed the House and now heads to Governor Jay Inslee, who opposes for-profit detention centers.
The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma is operated by the GEO Group under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it’s the only for-profit detention facility in the state.