Esmor Immigration Center In Seattle Gets Rave Reviews

A privately run detention center for immigrants here gets high marks, although a New Jersey facility run by the same company was the site of a weekend riot.

The center run by Esmor Corp. in Elizabeth, N.J., is an example of “privatization at its worst,” says Prosecutor Andrew Ruotolo Jr. of Union County, N.J.

But Esmor’s operation in Seattle, also under contract with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, gets rave reviews from those most likely to criticize it.

“We have a nice clean facility in Seattle,” said attorney Dan Danilov, an outspoken advocate for clients who, like him, have emigrated from other countries. “We’re very lucky.”

Caseworkers in the offices of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., said they have received no complaints and also described the place as clean and wellrun. Calls to the office of Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., went unanswered.

Danilov credits its administrator, Bill Paul.

“He’s got his feet on the ground. He makes the rounds himself. … He’s Johnny on the spot all the time,” the attorney said. “I get no comments at all except in terms of praise.”

The New Jersey facility is housed in a converted warehouse in an industrial area.

The Seattle center is on the second floor of the historic brick building just south of downtown that houses INS operations.

While Paul declined comment on its operation, referring all questions to the INS, he noted that he likes to drive out-of-town guests by the building, just to show it off.

“Part of what the detainees do is keep it clean,” said Molly Carle in McDermott’s Seattle office. Her duties include screening immigration complaints.

Carle’s counterpart in Murray’s office “gets dozens of letters. If there’d been a problem, she definitely would have heard about it,” said Murray spokesman Rex Carney in Washington, D.C.

The center can hold up to 250 people, said Irene Mortensen, INS spokeswoman in Seattle.

“We’ve not had any problems; … we’re very happy with the operation here, the way it has been working,” she said.

She said she is unaware of any lawsuits over conditions at the center and could recall only one complaint - “about the food. We’ve sampled the food. … I don’t see any problem with the food,” Mortensen said.

At the same time, “I know Esmor does have a new contract with a new food company,” she said.

“When people are in a detention facility, people will find things to complain about, like the food.”

The average stay is seven to 10 days, but some immigrants stay longer while their cases for U.S. entry are being appealed, Mortensen said.

Those who stay longer are made trusties and can earn increased privileges and freedoms, Danilov said.

He said hardships in their own countries may be a factor in their appreciation of Esmor’s center.

“My own clients from China, Russia, Ethiopia … tell me, ‘Mr. Danilov, I would rather sit in Esmor in Seattle than go home to the rice fields of China, the snow and ice of Siberia,”’ Danilov said.

“‘It’s nice and clean; we get three meals a day. It’s not the Olympic Hotel but not what I used to eat in Russia or China. … We get coffee, soda, anything you like, ice cream.”’

He said most are content to wait out their bids for entry at Esmor, where they have access to television and books and attend classes and church services offered by community groups.