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uwchr.bsky.social
University of Washington Center for Human Rights
@uwchr.bsky.social
370 followers 170 following 200 posts
We partner with organizations on the front lines of local & global human rights struggles to conduct research in the service of real-world social change.
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uwchr.bsky.social
Six of the seven men were sent to CECOT via King County Int'l Airport (Boeing Field). All six were booked out of NWDC on 3/8/25, and flew on the same #GlobalX flight serviced by #SignatureAviation, from Boeing Field to Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas, then sent to CECOT on 3/15/25.
Map showing a route from King County, Washington to Webb County Detention Center in Texas, to CECOT in El Salvador.
November 12, 2025 at 10:50 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Everett Herald Editorial Board covers UWCHR's latest report, "Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement."

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement. New Report: tinyurl.com/WAflock. University of Washington Center for Human Rights. Stylized digital collage showing border patrol and police agents looking into Washington state Flock data.
November 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Where are the records?

Since publishing the TPD report, UWCHR has experienced significant delays in receiving responses to our public records requests—to the point where, in some cases, the records risk being destroyed before we ever receive them.
WHERE ARE THE RECORDS? Since publishing the April 2025 report, UWCHR has experienced significant delays in receiving responses to our public records requests. In some cases, the records risk being destroyed before we ever receive them. Screenshot of South Sound 911's FOIA portal showing a records request “Awaiting Agency Response.” Many of these requests have now been delayed so long that the underlying records are outside the 90-day period for which preservation of audio records is required by state law, suggesting that the records may be destroyed before they can be examined by researchers.
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Six months after the report release, we continue to analyze South Sound 911 calls between the detention center and law enforcement.

Despite multiple meetings with City of Tacoma officials, UWCHR remains gravely concerned about responses to crimes occurring at the facility.
IN APRIL 2025, we published "TPD Doesn’t Respond Here,” a report documenting patterns of neglect in TPD’s reponse to assault and abuse inside the NWDC. SINCE THEN, records show the problems continue: >> Reports of sexual and non-sexual assaults continue to go unanswered by ICE or TPD. >> Detained people are unable to call 911 from within the facility without the assistance of GEO personnel. Many rely on family, lawyers, or even the WA Dept. of Health to call TPD on their behalf. >> In multiple cases, instead of ensuring privacy of communications by using a language line to translate for non-English speakers, GEO guards were asked to translate for detained people seeking to report crimes of a sexual nature.
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
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"I have a detainee here who has been assaulted and would like to file a police report."
"Do you want officers to respond to do the report?"
"I just need a case number."

What happens when someone tries to report an assault from inside the NWDC?

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
What is #FOIA?

Enacted in 1966 by congress, the Freedom of Information Act establishes the right of people and orgs to access gov information. The federal government must provide the information, aside from a few exceptions.

Anyone can submit a FOIA request.

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
How to FOIA: A guide to filing freedom of information act requests. By Emily Willard
October 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
10 years ago we filed our first FOIA lawsuit, suing the CIA seeking release of docs related to El Salvador's 1981 Santa Cruz massacre.

Today, we continue using public records laws to investigate local and int'l human rights issues, in partnership with those working for justice and accountability.
UWCHR Director Angelina Godoy in 2015 speaking on a panel about the center's CIA lawsuit.
October 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
For more information about WA state's role in gross human rights violations:

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
Gross Human Rights Violations in WA State: Enforced Disappearances and Refoulement. www.tinyurl.com/WAdisappearances. Outline of WA state split into three sections with collaged handcuffs, detention bars, and Global X plane.
October 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
This means that in WA, our most famous philanthropist grows his investments in part by supporting a company complicit in gross human rights abuses—and public workers’ retirements are being financed in part through investments in orgs that profit from the detention and deportation of our neighbors.
Involvement of local public and private institutions: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and King County International Airport (Boeing Field), both of which provide the infrastructure through which deportations happen daily; Washington State’s Department of Corrections, which collaborates with ICE in the detention of migrants completing a prison sentence; Signature Aviation, a private company providing fuel and support to private charter flights operating for ICE at King County International Airport; and the Washington State Investment Board, which invests the retirement funds of public employees in GEO Group and the firms that own Signature Aviation.
October 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Through front, side, and back door searches, Flock systems open the doors to WA data being searched to target immigrants and people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming health care.
Flock audits reveal multiple forms of access to local automated license plate reader systems by federal agencies and out of state law enforcement, including “front door” access via 1:1 sharing; “back door” access, in which records reveal searches despite direct sharing not being explicitly enabled; and “side door” access, in which local users make searches of networks to which they have access on behalf of federal immigration agencies, with keywords such as “ICE” or “immigration”.
October 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
“We didn’t know” is not a sufficient explanation for WA law enforcement agencies allowing Border Patrol access to surveillance networks.

What happens to Washington state data generated by Flock surveillance systems?

Learn more in our latest report:
www.tinyurl.com/WAflock
Police departments say "we didn't know." Officials in Auburn and Lakewood told KOMO News they were unaware that Border Patrol had access. "If that’s true, then that’s even more concerning, that the agencies that are contracting with this company, and that are using it, don’t know what’s happening with the data from these systems." - Phil Neff, UWCHR
October 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Washington state's use of technology should not be a threat to accessing essential health care, as Alizeh Bhojani of @legalvoice.org says.

However, our latest report highlights the danger of WA's use of Flock surveillance systems.

Learn more:
jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
"Our right to privacy is central to our lives. In an era of increased hostility to bodily autonomy, we must ensure that people can continue to access essential health care—from abortion to gender affirming care—without fear of their movements being tracked or reported." - Alizeh Bhojani, Legal Voice, Human and Civil Rights Policy Attorney
October 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Learn more about our latest report:

“Leaving the Door Wide Open” finds Flock Safety automated license plate reader technology threatens Washingtonians’ rights to privacy, protections for immigrants, and access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement. New Report: tinyurl.com/WAflock. University of Washington Center for Human Rights. Stylized digital collage showing border patrol and police agents looking into Washington state Flock data.
October 22, 2025 at 8:51 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Our latest report, “Leaving the Door Wide Open,” finds Flock Safety automated license plate reader technology threatens Washingtonians’ rights to privacy, protections for immigrants, and access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

Read more:
jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement. New Report: tinyurl.com/WAflock. University of Washington Center for Human Rights. Stylized digital collage showing border patrol and police agents looking into Washington state Flock data.
October 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Read the full report to learn more:
jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
“Flock’s unregulated surveillance technology leaves the door wide open for violations of our state’s restrictions on collaboration with federal immigration enforcement—or to law enforcement agencies from other states which may seek to prosecute those who come here for an abortion. The fact that local law enforcement agencies say that they did not know that their Flock systems had exposed Washington state residents to these risks only underscores the urgency of this issue.” - UWCHR Director Angelina Godoy
October 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
As initially reported by @eff.org & @404media.co, WA state Flock network data was also accessed by Texas law enforcement to track a person who had an abortion, showing how Flock surveillance systems can undermine WA protections for people accessing reproductive or gender-affirming health care.
Documents show Flock ALPR data from Yakima and Prosser, WA was searched by Texas law enforcement agencies in effort to track down a person who had an abortion. An excerpt from a Flock Network Audit from Prosser Police Department shows a May 9, 2025 search of the department’s network by a user from the Johnson County Texas Sheriff Office, listing the reason for search as “had an abortion, search for female.” This case was first reported by Electronic Frontier Foundation and 404 Media. The network queries can be seen documents obtained by UWCHR via public records requests, shown above. Through Flock, law enforcement in a state where abortions are illegal can use data generated by publicly-operated ALPR systems in Washington, a state committed to ensuring access to abortions for all who need them.
October 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
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UWCHR researchers examined Flock audits obtained via public records requests, finding that many law enforcement agencies across WA state have shared Flock network data, directly or indirectly, with federal immigration enforcement.
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement. New Report: tinyurl.com/WAflock. University of Washington Center for Human Rights. New report finds Washington residents’ data from Flock ALPR cameras accessed by U.S. border patrol in 2025 At least eight WA law enforcement agencies enabled direct sharing of their networks with U.S. Border Patrol at some point during 2025: Benton County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in the cities of Arlington, Auburn, Lakewood, Richland, Sunnyside, Wenatchee, and Yakima. At least ten Washington police departments had apparent “back door” access by U.S. Border Patrol to their networks, despite not explicitly authorizing Border Patrol searches of their network data: Police departments of Black Diamond, Centralia, Chehalis, East Wenatchee, Eatonville, Ellensburg, Grandview, Mukilteo, Prosser, and Renton. At least two law enforcement agencies may have done “side door” searches of their networks on behalf of ICE or other federal agencies. The report also documents numerous similar searches by out-of-state law enforcement agencies with access to Flock networks in Washington state. Map of Washington with cities and counties highlighted. “Front door” access At least eight Washington state law enforcement agencies enabled direct, 1:1 sharing of their networks with U.S. Border Patrol. “Back door” access At least ten Washington police departments had apparent “back door” access by U.S. Border Patrol to their networks, despite not explicitly authorizing Border Patrol searches of their network data. “Side door” access At least two law enforcement agencies may have done “side door” searches of their networks on behalf of ICE or other federal agencies. Almost all agencies were exposed to out-of-state “side door” searches, in which local law enforcement from another state searched their networks on behalf of ICE. Several agencies, including Arlington, Everett, Kent, Medina, Sedro-Wooley, and Tukwila, fully or partially denied public record requests for Flock audits, asserting that they had never consulted the audits and that they therefore do not constitute public records.
October 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
New report! “Leaving the Door Wide Open" finds Flock Safety automated license plate reader technology threatens Washingtonians’ rights to privacy, protections for immigrants, and access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

Read the report: www.tinyurl.com/WAflock
Leaving the Door Wide Open: Flock Surveillance Systems Expose Washington Data to Immigration Enforcement. New Report: tinyurl.com/WAflock. University of Washington Center for Human Rights. Stylized digital collage showing border patrol and police agents looking into Washington state Flock data.
October 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
“It doesn’t sound to me like the facility was closed. The data would suggest otherwise.” - Phil Neff, UWCHR

Reviewed data shows the assertion that the building has been out of commission is inaccurate. During the three weeks in question, ICE officers booked 25 people into the Portland facility.
At Northwest ICE facilities, book ins peaked in May. Graph showing data from six ICE holding facilities in the Pacific Northwest shows the number of weekly book ins was dropping across the region before Portland's facility temporarily closed. Bookings continued during the period of temporary closure.
October 16, 2025 at 2:54 PM
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Learn more about gross human rights violations occurring in WA state and the networks of companies, government entities, and individuals that make them possible:

jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/...
Gross Human Rights Violations in Washington State: Refoulement and Enforced Disappearance report cover, outline of Washington state cut into three, with handcuffs, cell bars, and a Global X plane overlaid over the state.
September 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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However, Signature continues to try to hide from public accountability, as cited in the article:

"Last month, a set of Signature boarding stairs in Seattle...got a new accessory: two sheets of cardboard, taped over the company’s logos."
Signature Aviation logo on a staircase to a plane is covered by cardboard and tape, two (presumably) ICE officers or airport officials walk down the steps, one wearing a mask and hat obscuring their identity.
September 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Signature Aviation is a fixed-base operator—they supply ground crews, aviation fuel, boarding stairs, and airplane hangar space.

The graphic below shows how Signature fits in locally to WA state's deportation network, servicing flights out of King County Airport/Boeing Field.
ICE conducts deportations and transfers of detained people via air travel through two main pathways. The majority of ICE’s air travel involves a system of private chartered companies, known as ICE Air, which, in Washington, primarily operates out of King County International Airport (Boeing Field), with FBO services provided by Signature Aviation. However, ICE documents obtained by UWCHR under FOIA also show significant usage of commercial airlines for deportation operations, including at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with carriers such as Alaska, Delta, Qatar Airways, United, and others. During Jan and Feb 2025, 322 people detained at the NWDC were transferred out: 210 left via ICE Air/Boeing Field, 104 left on commercial flights/Sea-Tac. 8 were driven to Canadian border.
September 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
uwchr.bsky.social
Signature Aviation is a fixed-base operator—they supply ground crews, aviation fuel, boarding stairs, and airplane hangar space.

The graphic below shows how Signature fits in locally to WA state's deportation network, servicing flights out of King County Airport/Boeing Field.
ICE conducts deportations and transfers of detained people via air travel through two main pathways. The majority of ICE’s air travel involves a system of private chartered companies, known as ICE Air, which, in Washington, primarily operates out of King County International Airport (Boeing Field), with FBO services provided by Signature Aviation. However, ICE documents obtained by UWCHR under FOIA also show significant usage of commercial airlines for deportation operations, including at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with carriers such as Alaska, Delta, Qatar Airways, United, and others. During Jan and Feb 2025, 322 people detained at the NWDC were transferred out: 210 left via ICE Air/Boeing Field, 104 left on commercial flights/Sea-Tac. 8 were driven to Canadian border.
September 8, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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Enforced disappearance and refoulement of Washingtonians is happening, right here, in our backyard, as @laresistencianw.bsky.social organizer Josefina Mora-Cheung says.
August 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
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Learn more and read the full report here: tinyurl.com/WAdisappeara...
“All institutions—federal, state and local; public and private—and all individuals are called to take active measures to avoid complicity in the networks that produce these violations. Our central purpose in publishing this report is to make all Washingtonians witness to what is happening on our watch, in the hopes that we might come together in new ways to stop these abuses.”
August 22, 2025 at 5:47 PM