Protesters Are Blocking Three Exits at One of the Biggest Immigrant Detention Centers in the US Right Now

Last year, a smaller action reportedly inspired a weeks-long hunger protest inside the detention center. Ansel Herz

More than 20 people are blocking exits at the Northwest Detention Center, a privately-run immigrant detention center in Tacoma with 1,575 spaces for detainees. The protesters, whose arms are locked together, deployed at 5:30 this morning. Stranger reporter Ansel Herz is embedded with them, tweeting live.

Last year, a smaller-scale blockade reportedly inspired a hunger strike inside the jail that lasted for weeks. http://t.co/NOo0r1Lyyv

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

"In the hunger strike, they said we only have our bodies to do this," organizer Maru Mora Villalpando, who is undocumented, said. "We also only have our bodies and we're willing to risk arrest, and, in some cases, deportation."

Organizers say their goal is to stop buses of deportees from leaving. More than 20 people are locked together, blocking three exits.

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

GEO Group, the for-profit federal contractor operating the Northwest Detention Center, has received close scrutiny of late over contract language guaranteeing minimum bed quotas in its facilities. Bed quotas guarantee that the government pays for a minimum number of beds, and critics say the practice encourages ICE to detain immigrants and ship them to Tacoma.

Guards for GEO Group, the private company that runs the detention center, are turning around, unable to get in. pic.twitter.com/0814rYK3Bs

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

Blockading the main entrance of the NW Detention Center. Activists' arms are locked together. https://t.co/S6sw9e37Kt

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

One protester has climbed a lamppost and unfurled a banner facing the cellblocks that says, "You are not alone." pic.twitter.com/ijf9VCajwA

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

This asshole driver accelerated, almost running over blockaders. People jumped in front, screaming, and he sped off. pic.twitter.com/oeK40ddTxM

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

Beth DeRooy from the Raging Grannies is sipping tea. Says she's here to be "in solidarity with families torn apart." pic.twitter.com/X8PEn6ffqQ

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

In August, Villalpando and other activists blocked traffic in downtown Seattle for two hours to protest GEO's treatment of transgender detainees. At today's action, activists are emphasizing intersectionality with other movements.

Organizers stress the intersectional makeup of the protest group, from environmentalists to queer activists. pic.twitter.com/wwZ91DawcP

— Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015

We'll keep updating some of Ansel's tweets here. Follow him on Twitter for more.

UPDATE:

I'm told activists voluntarily ended the blockade of the Northwest Detention Center at noon. Zero arrests! And no deportation buses got out. — Ansel (@Ansel) September 21, 2015