FDC SeaTac is a federal detention facility in SeaTac, Washington, situated close to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is where its name comes from. It opened in September 1997 and was built with a capacity of around 1,000 inmates. As an administrative-security facility, it handles a mixed population, including male and female inmates serving out sentences as well as pretrial detainees, holdover inmates being transferred between other facilities, and immigration detainees, a broader mix than what you'd find at a typical single-purpose prison. Its airport-adjacent location makes it a convenient transfer point within the Bureau of Prisons' system of moving inmates around the country, since holdover populations often pass through facilities like this one between legs of the federal prisoner transport system. There isn't a dramatic historical event tied to its founding — it was purpose-built in the 1990s to serve growing detention needs in the Pacific Northwest. For families, it's worth knowing that because of its varied population and use as a transfer hub, a loved one's stay there could be short-term and tied to a court appearance or transfer rather than a long-term placement.