Tacoma honors the loss of immigrant community member, renews calls to shut down detention center

Tacoma, WA – On October 25, around 50 community members gathered in the stormy weather conditions outside of the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) to stand in solidarity with those detained inside and to honor the anniversary of José Manuel Sánchez-Castro’s death.

Sánchez-Castro’s is one of two people who died at the NWDC in 2024 alone. “We are here today to remember José Manuel Sánchez-Castro, who tragically passed away under preventable circumstances, placed in medical isolation and denied treatment while detained at the Northwest Detention Center,” stated Perla Vazquez, an organizer with La Resistencia.

The NWDC is a for-profit facility run by GEO Group. GEO makes millions of dollars each year running detention centers like the one in Tacoma.

“Mr. Sánchez-Castro’s death is yet another tragic example of the ongoing pattern of medical neglect caused by both ICE and GEO,” Vazquez stated.

Sánchez-Castro’s death is a small glimpse at the extreme medical neglect and inhumane conditions occurring at the Northwest Detention Center.

“Many drink water from the sink. That’s the only water they have access to because in the commissary, water is $2. It looks brown, and it tastes like Clorox,” Vazquez shared with the crowd based on the report that La Resistencia received. “What we’re hearing is the brutal and inhumane reality of these conditions, and it will continue to get worse unless we do something about it.”

These horrific conditions have led groups such as La Resistencia to call for a shutdown of the NWDC. La Resistencia was the first to report Sánchez-Castro’s death and has been at the forefront of the fight for over 11 years, organizing with those detained inside who lead hunger strikes and demand better conditions. Since La Resistencia’s founding, many other groups have joined in the struggle to shut down the detention center.

The organizers of Solidarity Day included La Resistencia and Tsuru for Solidarity, with supporting organizations such as the Climate Alliance of the South Sound, the Pierce County Immigration Alliance (La Alianza), and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Jami Cortez, an organizer with Climate Alliance of the South Sound, spoke about how the fight for climate justice is connected to the struggle for immigrants’ rights.

“The Climate Alliance of the South Sound is an indigenous-led, Tacoma-based environmental group that is fighting for a strong climate commission here in Tacoma, one that has real teeth to stop harmful and environmentally racist projects like the Northwest Detention Center.” Cortez stated, “There are forever toxic chemicals in the ground here, so much so that it’s been deemed uninhabitable for humans. We’re also within the blast zone of the Puget Sound Energy liquefied natural gas facility. They store fracked gas, and if it goes up in flames, if there’s an earthquake, if there’s really any type of natural disaster, the people here will be put at extreme risk. And guess what? There’s no actual evacuation plan here. So we demand that the Climate Commission have actual power to shut down these toxic facilities like the Northwest Detention Center, like the PSE and LNG!”

The people’s movements to shut down the NDWC from inside and out only continue to grow. José’s death stands as a reminder of what the community has lost and what they are fighting for. As long as the NWDC stands, the community will continue to rise and demand “Free them all!”

#TacomaWA #WA #ImmigrantRights