TACOMA, WA – One detained person at the now-infamous Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) – owned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and operated by private prison profiteers GEO Group – is currently on a hunger strike to demand an immediate appointment with a dentist, release from solitary confinement, and an end to negligence inside the privately owned facility. Steven Chavarria Portillo was told by Lieutenant Hansen that he would return to general population by Feb. 9, but that did not happen.
Mr. Chavarria Portillo continues to refuse food and medical care until his demands are met. In fact, this is Mr. Chavarria Portillo’s sixth (6th) hunger strike since being detained at the NWDC where he has consistently blown the whistle on the medical negligence, abuse, and repressive actions by GEO Group and ICE. In 2025 when Mr. Chavarria Portillo refused to be sent to Alaska and later refused to get his blood drawn for unexplained medical tests, GEO labeled him as someone who “causes violence, influences hunger strikes, and is a risk for others.” As a repressive measure, GEO Group has forced Mr. Chavarria Portillo to be in solitary confinement for the last 10 months, something the NWDC is notorious for.
Mr. Chavarria Portillo’s hunger strike represents the seventh (7th) such protest taking place at the now-infamous NWDC so far this year. La Resistencia demands that Mr. Chavarria Portillo’s demand to be released from solitary confinement be met and ultimately, that he is freed. La Resistencia demands the permanent closing of the NWDC and the freedom of all inside.
La Resistencia is a grassroots organization in Washington state led by undocumented people in solidarity with detainees at Northwest Detention Center, fighting for the closing of the facility and an end to all detentions and deportations. Learn more at laresistencianw.org.
