Lael Henterly

Lael Henterly is a journalist working at the intersection of law and policy to redefine justice.
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Employee cars and trucks parked outside of the Northwest Detention Center yesterday had picket signs charging "unfair labor practices" and understaffing" at the privately-run facility. (Photo by Victoria Mena)

Labor unrest at GEO Group’s immigrant detention center in Tacoma

by Lael Henterly
More bad news for private prison contractor the GEO Group, as guards at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are picketing for better conditions.
Oct 13, 2016
Guards book a new detainee into the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The facility is run by the Geo Group, a private corrections corporation, on contract from the Department of Homeland Security

GEO Group signs new 10 year contract for the Northwest Detention Center

by Lael Henterly
GEO Group, criticized for its treatment of immigrant detainees, signed a contract to continue operations at the Northwest Detention Center through 2025.
Oct 2, 2015
Citizens gathered outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma in the dawn hours to blockade busses with deportees from leaving. (Photo by Angelica Chazaro)

Bernie Sanders wants private companies out of the immigration detention business

by Lael Henterly
Tacoma immigration detention center is one of many private prisons that Sanders wants closed.
Sep 23, 2015

Fewer immigrants filling Tacoma detention center, as doubts grow about new contract

by Lael Henterly
With a big contract in the works, Tacoma detention center for immigrants sits half empty.
Apr 2, 2015
Tsunami hazard signs line the West Coast of the US. (Photo from Flickr by Daniel Hoherd)

The disaster waiting to happen at the Northwest Detention Center

by Lael Henterly
In the event of a natural disaster like a tsunami, what would happen to the hundreds of immigrants held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma?
Mar 18, 2015
Detainees inside the women's wing of the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. (Photo by Alex Stonehill)

Another decade of detention center woes in Tacoma?

by Lael Henterly
Immigrants held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma were back on hunger strike for the third time this year, just as ICE announced the facility's contract was up for renewal.
Nov 11, 2014
A salmon carcass on the banks of the Fraser River in British Columbia. Salmon spawn in Canadian rivers, but pass through American waters and are caught by Washington fishermen. (Photo by Todd Gordon Brown)

Warm waters strain shared BC-Washington salmon fishery

by Lael Henterly
Unseasonably warm water and a toxic mining spill in BC have meant a tough season for Puget Sound salmon fishermen.
Sep 22, 2014
Demonstrators at Westlake Park last weekend protest a rash of police killing civilians. (Photo by Sara McCaslin)

How our police became soldiers (and how we can change them back)

by Lael Henterly
The standoff in Ferguson has Seattleites wondering what kind of paramilitary equipment our local police are packing.
Aug 20, 2014
Protestors mimic force-feeding detainees at an August 2nd demonstration at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. (Photo from NWDC Resistance Facebook Page )

Tensions rise at Tacoma detention center, with little room for negotiation

by Lael Henterly
Immigrant detainees in the Northwest are caught between an antagonistic federal agency, a profit-hungry corporation and a dysfunctional do-nothing Congress.
Aug 7, 2014
Contingent from Tacoma SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) at anti-war rally, Judkins Park, Seattle, Washington, 27 October 2007. (Photo by Joe Mabel via Wikipedia)

How to prove the government is spying on you

by Lael Henterly
How a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Force Protection Officer infiltrated a peaceful political group… and got away with it.
Jul 25, 2014
Nearly 10,000 showed up the May Day march with signs and flags, calling for a higher minimum wage and an end to discrimination against immigrants. (Photo by Seth Halleran)

Who really wins with a $15 minimum wage?

by Lael Henterly
Answer: Immigrants, women, minorities.
Jun 18, 2014
The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma has been used to imprison immigrants slated for deportation since April of 2004. (Image via Google Maps)

ICE contract to house immigrant detainees opening this summer

by Lael Henterly
Looking for a business opportunity? Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is looking for someone to provide secure accommodations for thousands of immigrants slated for deportation from the Northwest each year.
Jun 2, 2014
A guard at the Northwest Detention Center, a private facility owned and operated by the GEO Group, on contract from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Photo by Alex Stonehill)

Gates Foundation resists pressure to pull private prison investment

by Lael Henterly
Earlier this week detainees at the Northwest Detention Center called an official end to their 56 day hunger strike in protest of conditions at the Tacoma facility. One of their stated victories was that the strike drew international attention to the private prison network operated by Florida-based corrections corporation the GEO Group. The storm of […]
May 8, 2014
One of the "pods" at the Northwest Detention Center, where groups of up to 250 detainees are held. (Photo by Alex Stonehill)

Hey, what ever happened with that hunger strike at the Northwest Detention Center?

by Lael Henterly
It’s not easy organizing a hunger strike inside a secure detention facility. But with nothing but time on their hands, people get resourceful. Jose Moreno, a former detainee who participated in the strike until his release March 12, broke down some of the techniques the detainees used to organize: informal sign language, messages placed between the […]
Apr 21, 2014
The family of detainee hold signs outside Northwest Detention Center during a demonstration on Saturday. (Photo by Lael Henterly)

Hundreds stand in solidarity with detainee hunger strikers

by Lael Henterly
Over 200 activists, family members of former and current immigration detainees and concerned citizens braved the elements Saturday afternoon to stand in solidarity with those being held inside the Northwest Detention Center, and at similar facilities around the nation. Organized by the activist group #Not1More Deportation, the march and rally in Tacoma coincided with events around […]
Apr 7, 2014

Cool graphic visualizes two decades of global migration

by Lael Henterly
A newly released interactive graphic shows visualizes millions of individuals migrating between countries over the past 20 years.
Mar 31, 2014