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A federal judge ruled in favor of Washington on Thursday, allowing state Department of Health officials to inspect the region’s largest immigration detention center after thousands of complaints from people detained there.

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle granted both the state and the Department of Health’s preliminary injunctions. His orders do not apply to administrative and medical areas operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the facility.

GEO Group, one of the largest private incarceration companies in the U.S. and operator of the facility in Tacoma, has prevented inspections since Washington passed a law in 2023 setting health and safety standards for private detention centers in the state. The law also allows unannounced Department of Health inspections.

The orders will take effect in 14 days, allowing time for GEO Group to appeal, Settle wrote.

GEO Group has argued it cannot provide entry, instead putting the responsibility on ICE enforcement within the facility.

“Once again, a judge has told GEO Group that Washington state has a right to ensure the health and wellness of people detained within our borders — period,� Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “GEO Group needs to stop fighting a losing court battle and follow the law.�

After receiving over 3,500 complaints from detained people about conditions at the facility about a mile from downtown Tacoma, Attorney General Nick Brown’s office asked the court in April to issue an order permitting state health officials to enter and inspect the building.

At the detention center, people have reported inadequate medical care, black mold in showers, unsafe drinking water, laundry returned wet and dirtier than before and food containing “burned plastic, metal string, splinters, hair, and worms.�

Another complaint stated there were only two working bathrooms for about 100 people.

“The complaints we’re hearing from people held in the facility are alarming,� Ferguson said. “GEO Group says they’re false — if that’s true, they should prove it by letting our health inspectors into the building.�

GEO Group and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comments.