TACOMA, WA – (MyBellinghamNow.com) A privately-run Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center is under scrutiny after refusing to let state health inspectors inside.

The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma has been at the forefront of complaints from detainees since it opened in 2004. KING5 reports that inspectors from both the state Health Dept. and L&I have issued safety violations on several occasions, but it’s unclear if those issues were ever resolved.

Last year, Governor Inslee signed HB 1470 into law, which allows state inspectors to make unannounced visits to the state’s detention facilities. Inspectors claim that they’ve been denied entry into the ICE facility at least six times since November.

GEO Group, which owns the facility, attempted to sue the state over those inspections by claiming they’re a federal entity. A judge declined to hear the lawsuit last November.