By Theo Bickel
NAP Contributor
Video chat. Tsuru was able to connect with a detainee inside the NW ICE Processing Center. He shared the inadequate healthcare and severe medical conditions he suffers through inside the facility. Photo credit: Theo Bickel.
In February, Japanese American descendants of incarcerated families and allies rallied outside the fence of the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington to commemorate the Day of Remembrance.
The event began with taiko drummers booming songs that echoed across the entrance to NWDC—one of the largest U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in the country today.
February 19, 2026 marks 84 years since U.S. President Roosevelt signed U.S. Executive Order 9066 which authorized the mass, forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans.
Activists gather together in protest outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center, the Tacoma Dome far off in the distance. Photo credit: Theo Bickel.
Organized by Tsuru for Solidarity and immigrants’ rights organization, La Resistencia, speakers denounced the violence and dehumanization of immigrants perpetrated by federal immigration enforcement today. The historic experiences of trauma and violence from the executive order incarceration strongly resembled the family separation inflicted by the current federal government.
Organizers communicated with a current detainee inside the NWDC via a video call in the middle of the program. He shared his experiences of medical neglect and dehumanization that marks life inside the ICE processing facility.
The rally followed the Puyallup Valley Japanese American Citizens League Day of Remembrance program earlier that day, as well as Tsuru for Solidarity’s press conference outside the King County International Airport.
