Private prison ban could limit ICE detention in the Pacific Northwest By Lilly Fowler, Crosscut Share: 2 Photos Detainees walk past a map of the world in a hallway of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE detention facility Sept. 10, 2019 in Tacoma. The recent canceling of ICE contracts in Cowlitz County and at NORCOR in Oregon, along with a Washington state consideration of banning private prisons in the state, may severely hamper or even halt ICE detention and enforcement in the Pacific Northwest. (Ted S. Warren/Associated Press) Photo Gallery After years of pressure from activists, the detention of adults and teens by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be severely curtailed in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to action in the courts and in the Washington Legislature.