Originally published September 30, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified October 1, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Feds say Washington immigration guards weren't checked out
Federal authorities are taking a second look at security guards at the Northwest Detention Center, a privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma, after finding that some were hired without preliminary background checks.
AP Legal Affairs Writer
Federal authorities are taking a second look at security guards at the Northwest Detention Center, a privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma, after finding that some were hired without preliminary background checks, The Associated Press has learned.
"Clearly this is a cause for concern," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We take great pride in the safety and the security at our facilities, and we need to make sure the people responsible for the safety and security of our facilities are themselves beyond reproach."
Authorities released few details, citing an ongoing investigation, but a federal charge was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, accusing Sylvia Wong, a human-relations specialist with GEO Group Inc., the private contractor that runs the center, of lying to ICE internal investigators when she claimed in April she did not falsely generate documents.
The Northwest Detention Center opened in 2004 and holds about 1,000 people accused of immigration violations, mainly detainees from Alaska, Oregon and Washington. This summer, a report by an immigrant-rights-advocacy group alleged mistreatment of detainees there, including excessive strip searches and overcrowding. ICE officials dismissed it as a "work of fiction."
Guards hired at the center are supposed to go through a preliminary background check, after which an "entry on duty" memorandum allows them to begin work pending the completion of a full background check, which can take several months to more than a year, Kice said.
Wong is accused of fabricating the documents, allowing guards to begin work without the preliminary background check. Kice said she couldn't discuss why that allegedly was done, how long it might have been going on or in how many instances guards began working without background checks.
"If someone was brought on board who had a prior criminal history ... that's one of the issues we're examining closely," she said, adding that in such a case "we'll take follow up action."
Wong is still on the job, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown said.
Wong's lawyer was out of the office Tuesday, and Wong did not return a message left on her work voice mail. GEO Group, based in Boca Raton, Fla., did not return e-mails seeking comment.
The study on conditions at the lockup was released by Seattle-based OneAmerica, an immigrant-rights advocacy group, and the International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University Law School. They based it largely on interviews with detainees, family members and immigration lawyers.
"This really just points to what we had in our report, that there's no oversight over these detention centers, and contractors can get away with all kinds of things," Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, said Tuesday.
"We'd like to know what kind of checks were done ... to make sure they don't have guards that might be prone to be abusive," Jayapal added.
The report came out soon after ICE announced an increase of nearly 40 percent in deportations out of Washington, Oregon and Alaska over the first nine months of the fiscal year. More than 7,300 people were deported from the region in that period.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
![]()
Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
Danny Westneat: Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
Parents want answers on new Seattle school boundaries
3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday

Mourners gather at KeyArena for slain officer's memorial
Mourners gathered at KeyArena for the memorial service of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton on November 6, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Briefs | Soccer: New Mexico suspends hair-pulling player Elizabeth Lambert
- How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
- Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
- 3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday
- McGinn pulling away as late ballots come in
- Using anti-shooter tactics, civilian Army police officer brought down gunman
- The birth of 'Grunge,' in photos by Michael Lavine
- Weapons, bomb-making materials found in suspect's apartment
336 - U.S. House passes health plan
332 - Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
229 - Decision day for health care in the House
209 - Grading the game
153 - Referendum 71 show's Washington's strategy for marriage equality is working
135 - Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
108 - Sounders FC-Dynamo playoff Game 2 thread
76 - How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
73 - Game thread: Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks, Nov. 8
73
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- The birth of 'Grunge,' in photos by Michael Lavine
- 10 investing missteps to avoid
- How do innovators think?
- 10 ways to take control of your health
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Danny Westneat | Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
- Tlingit heritage helps glass artist Preston Singletary break new ground
- How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall





