GRITtv features article on Hutto

This week, GRITtv with Laura Flanders is featuring Hutto: America's Family Prison in its Got Docs? segment.

Thank you to Laura Flanders for helping us get Hutto and family detention into the national spotlight!

(Click here to see the whole film)

Democracy Now! on Detainee Medical Care, Private Prisons, and

Tuesday, August 19, 2008.  Syndicated radio and television news hour, Democracy Now! publicized the T. Don Hutto story internationally back in 2007.  Host Amy Goodman interviewed Kevin Yourdkhani and his father, Majid, while they were detained at Hutto.  Since then, the deaths of 82+ detainees in ICE custody has drawn widespread scrutiny, including a new bill called the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act sponsored by Senator Lofgren (D, California).  A half hour is devoted to detainee medical care, ending with Renee Feltz, the co-author of The Business of Detention, discussing the role of the private corrections industry in immigration detention.  This section includes an interview with the Santibanez family, who have experienced Texas' immigration detention system firsthand.

Read the transcripts, stream the show, or download the podcast here.

For more on the Detainee Basic Medical Care Bill, download this summary from the Detention Watch Network.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Keeping with yesterday's coverage, today's DN! goes to Postville, Iowa, the small town with the rare distinction of hosting ICE's largest workplace raid in history.  This 3,000 person town lost 300 of its members in May, as ICE raided the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant located there.  Now, families of detained workers are barred from leaving Postville and are monitored with ankle bracelets.  Calling Postville "an open air prison," many women were left without support after their spouses were arrested and imprisoned.  Left as single mothers, they worry about buying school supplies, feeding their children, and finding relief, but it's an uphill battle, as Monica Ramirez of the ACLU and Paul Ouderkirk of St. Bridget's Catholic Church report.  It's not Hutto, but family detention is taking new forms.  

Please watch, download, or read the show, click here.

For extensive New York Times coverage of the Postville raid, click here.

For extensive archives on detention news, the Detention Watch Network provides a wealth of information in their database.  Search, read, learn, take action!

Saturday: Vigil at Hutto

Saturday, August 16th, 2008.

The Texas Indigenous Council in conjunction with San Antonio musicians and other community groups will be holding a vigil this Saturday, August 16th, in Taylor, Texas. Demonstrators will gather at 12:00 noon at Heritage Park where they will rally until 1 pm, followed by walk for the children to T. Don Hutto detention center for the protest, vigil, and music from San Antonio artists. Please contact Antonio Diaz at (210) 396-9805 for more information and caravan times from San Antonio.

Organizer & Spokesperson: Antonio Diaz

Sponsor: Texas Indigenous Council.