Bill to establish statewide oversight of jails in Washington dies in Legislature
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Visit investigatewest.org/newsletters to sign up for weekly updates.
'; document.querySelector('#copytext').value = textContent; modal.showModal(); }); // Modal close functionality const modal = document.querySelector('.republish-modal'); const closeBtn = document.querySelector('.republish-modal-close'); // Close button click closeBtn.addEventListener('click', function() { modal.close(); }); // Close on backdrop click modal.addEventListener('click', function(e) { if (e.target === modal) { modal.close(); } }); // Close on ESC key (this is usually built-in, but adding for safety) modal.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) { if (e.key === 'Escape') { modal.close(); } }); // Copy text button functionality document.querySelector('.copy-text-button').addEventListener('click', async function() { const textarea = document.querySelector('#copytext'); const text = textarea.value; try { // Try modern Clipboard API first if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext) { await navigator.clipboard.writeText(text); this.textContent = 'Copied!'; } else { // Fallback for older browsers textarea.select(); document.execCommand('copy'); this.textContent = 'Copied!'; } // Reset button text after 2 seconds setTimeout(() => { this.textContent = 'Copy text'; }, 2000); } catch (err) { console.error('Failed to copy text: ', err); // Fallback to selection if copying fails textarea.select(); this.textContent = 'Text selected'; setTimeout(() => { this.textContent = 'Copy text'; }, 2000); } }); });President Obama's announcement in June that some young, undocumented immigrants will no longer face deportation has stirred hopes for hundreds of immigrant families in the Northwest, many of whom have lived in the shadow of possible detention and deportation for years.
KUOW’s Liz Jones, working in collaboration with Carol Smith, has this report on the impact of Obama’s recent announcement on a Kirkland family with two high-school age girls.
Their report is part of a larger look, coming in August, at what goes on inside the Northwest Detention Center – a facility that looks like an industrial warehouse on East J Street in Tacoma, but that houses thousands of detained immigrants who are facing deportation. Smith and the News Tribune’s Lewis Kamb have spent months tracing the expansion of the privately owned facility and its impact on the region’s immigrant populations.
Prior to joining The News Tribune’s staff, Kamb helped launch InvestigateWest. This project marks the first collaboration between InvestigateWest and The News Tribune. KUOW is one of InvestigateWest's core news partners.
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