ICE’s New Detention Center Contracts Declare State Laws ‘Shall Not Apply’

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to place its private detention network beyond the reach of state inspectors, publishing draft contract terms that declare state and local laws “shall not apply” to the facilities, according to federal documents reviewed by WIRED.

The new terms were published earlier this month, a day after a federal judge ruled that a contract cannot override state law and ordered ICE’s largest Pacific Northwest detention center opened to Washington health officials.

The ruling, by US District Judge Benjamin Settle, came only after three years of litigation; 10 refused inspections, according to the state; and 3,500 detainee complaints. A Ninth Circuit judge temporarily paused the order on July 21, with a decision on a longer stay expected in early August.

Settle ordered the operator of Tacoma’s immigration detention center to admit Washington state health inspectors, ruling that nothing in the company's federal contract...

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