Williamson County's Response to Sexual Abuse Allegations at T. Don Hutto

JAMES R. WILSON

WILLIAMSON COUNTY SHERIFF

508 South Rock Street

Georgetown, Texas 78626

Phone (512) 943-1300 * Fax (512) 943-1444

August 19, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE

Arrest made in T. Don Hutto Investigation.

On May 11, 2010, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Austin Police Department regarding an employee of the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas. The report detailed how a female made contact with an Austin Bergstorm International Airport employee advising them that she had been inappropriately touched outside her clothing while being transported from the T. Don Hutto facility to the airport. The report identified an employee of the Correction Corporation of America as being the suspect of this allegation. The Correction Corporation of America is the contracted company at the T. Don Hutto facility which houses federal immigration detainees. Due to the facility being in Williamson County, The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office immediately began an investigation into this allegation. On the same date, Donald Charles Dunn, a Resident Supervisor at the T. Don Hutto facility and employee of Correction Corporation of America was identified as the suspect of this allegation. Mr. Dunn met with Williamson County Detectives on May 20, 2010 and explained to detectives that he told the women he was going to “frisk” them and then inappropriately touched their breasts, crotch and buttocks. Mr. Dunn advised that he didn’t do this for safety concerns but as self gratification. Mr. Dunn indicated to Detectives that he had done this to numerous other women while performing his duties as a transport officer. A large scale investigation into the current locations of other possible victims began immediately after Mr. Dunn’s interview. Detectives from Williamson County and Immigration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Office of Professional Responsibility/San Antonio) set out to make contact with several of the possible victims who had located across the country since bonding out of the facility. Mr. Dunn was subsequently terminated from his contract employment with Correction Corporation of America when the allegation was first reported to authorities.

The investigation revealed that all of the possible victims of Mr. Dunn had been released on bond from the T Don Hutto federal facility and were being transported to the Austin-Bergstrom Airport or bus station. It was during these courtesy transports that Mr. Dunn would stop at different locations in the areas of both Travis and Williamson County. Williamson County is pursuing charges against Mr. Dunn for his actions in the area of the convenience store located at 20306 FM 973. The transports usually occurred in the early morning hours when it was still dark.

Three women that were interviewed told detectives that they were inappropriately touched outside of their clothing on their breast, virginal or buttocks areas. Two of the three victims said they were unlawfully restrained. The two charges of unlawful restraint occurred when Mr. Dunn took the victims to the above location against their will. One victim told officers she thought she would be either “killed or violated”. Several women who were interviewed denied any contact with Mr. Dunn. Some of those advised that they were transported in the daylight hours and or it was raining. Several women could not be located for questioning because of out of date addresses with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

DONALD CHARLES DUNN

Date of Birth 12/23/1979 of 14408 Varrelman Street in Austin was arrested on August 19, 2010 at 4:50pm in Austin. Mr. Dunn will be booked into the Williamson County Jail where he awaits arrangement on a $35,000.00 bond. Mr. Dunn faces 3 counts of official oppression and 2 counts of unlawful restraint. Due to the late booking of Mr. Dunn, No mug shot is available till August 20, 2010.

The investigation is still ongoing at this time. Anyone having information about a victim or Mr. Dunn’s crimes is encouraged to call the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office at 512-943-1300 or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

*On August 20, 2010, at 10:00am, the Williamson County Sheriff’s will discuss and answer questions regarding limited aspects of the investigation with the media. The conference will be at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office located at 508 Rock Street in Georgetown, Texas. No further Information will only be available till 10:00am August 20, 2010*

The T. Don Hutto facility opened in May, 2006 as a family residential facility housing families while they awaited their immigration hearings or decisions The facility changed over to housing females in a separate area of the facility in February, 2008 and in September, 2009 the entire facility began housing only females. The facility is operated under an Immigration and Customs Intergovernmental Service Agreement with Williamson County. Williamson County contracts with Corrections Corporation of America for the facility's day-to-day operation. A new agreement with Williamson County became effective February 1, 2010. The facility employees 169 Correction Corporation of America Staff, 30 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Staff and 43 United States Public Health Services Staff.

For further media information contact:

Sergeant John Foster

Williamson County Sheriff’s Office

Special Investigations Unit

Pager: 512-208-2188

WillCo to keep closer tabs on Hutto

Williamson County authorities say they will supervise employees at the T. Don Hutto detention facility more closely after a worker was accused of fondling women.

Donald Charles Dunn, 30, is charged with official oppression and unlawful restraint, Class A misdemeanors.

The facility in Taylor houses women who are illegal immigrants. Williamson County contracts with the private company, Correction Corporation of America (CCA) to run it.

In May, a woman told Austin police a man inappropriately touched her while she was being driven from the facility to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Area law enforcement investigated. They say they found five women in Williamson County and three in Travis County who say Dunn groped them when he was taking them to the airport or bus station.

Williamson County Sheriff’s spokesman John Foster says its contract with CCA states that two people will be present during transport but Dunn was alone when the alleged crimes happened.

The women told detectives they believed Dunn was a law enforcement officer and had the right to frisk them. Foster says Dunn was a resident supervisor and not an officer. CCA has fired Dunn.

News 8 Austin: T Don Hutto employee fired after alleged sexual abuse

A transport officer at the T. Don Hutto residential facility in Taylor was fired after confessing to inappropriately touching inmates after they were released.
Donald Dunn was in charge of taking former detainees to a destination of their choice after they were released from custody.

One woman was taken to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and told an ABIA employee about the inappropriate behavior. The woman’s outcry was enough to get the investigation started.

All of the victims were females previously held by the federal government concerning their immigration status.

Sgt. John Foster is a Williamson County Deputy Sheriff that also serves as a monitor for the T. Don Hutto Residential Center. Foster had strong words for Dunn Friday.

"They deserve to come into this country and not be assaulted, he didn't give that to them," he said.

According to authorities, Dunn was responsible for the transport of 72 detainees while employed at the federal facility. Officials attempted to interview all of those he had transported during his time as an officer. Forty-two detainees were questioned, 30 women could not be found.

Sgt. Foster said the investigation went coast to coast in an attempt to locate potential victims.

Lisa Graybill is the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

"I believe many of these women are asylum seekers, so that means they fled persecution, violence, possible sexual violence in their home countries,” she said. "Only to come to this country and have this happen to them."

Word of the Hutto facility investigation reached Washington D.C., and officials in the case tell News 8 that President Obama was briefed regarding all of the charges against Dunn.

Dunn has been charged with three counts of official oppression and two counts of unlawful restraint. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail.

ACLU Investigates Sexual Abuse at Hutto

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2010
11:23 AM

CONTACT: ACLU
Will Matthews, (212) 549-2582 or 2666; media@aclu.org

Sexual Abuse Of Female Detainees At Hutto Highlights Ongoing Failure Of Immigration Detention System, Says ACLU

NEW YORK - August 20 - A Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) employee at the T. Don Hutto immigration detention facility in Taylor, TX today was charged with sexually abusing numerous female immigration detainees. Donald Charles Dunn, a resident supervisor at the Hutto facility, is accused of abusing the detainees as he was transporting them to the airport after they had been released on bond and has allegedly admitted to telling the women that he was going to "frisk" them before touching their breasts and genital areas for his gratification, according to Sheriff's officials in Williamson County, TX. Dunn is charged with official oppression and unlawful restraint.

The American Civil Liberties Union is actively investigating the sexual abuse of female detainees at Hutto, where the detention of families was halted last year after the successful settlement of an ACLU lawsuit charging that children were being imprisoned in inhumane conditions while their parents awaited immigration decisions.

As part of its investigation, the ACLU has obtained via the Texas Public Information Act copies of both the Intergovernmental Services Agreement (IGSA) between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), CCA and Williamson County, under which the Hutto facility is operated, and ICE's own transport policy. Both documents are being made available to the public and can be found online at: www.aclu.org/huttodocs. The opportunity for abuse was the result of a failure by CCA officials to abide by the IGSA that female immigration detainees not be isolated with male staff members.

The following can be attributed to Vanita Gupta, Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU:

"The sexual abuse of numerous immigration detainees at Hutto underscores the systemic failures that continue to plague our nation's broken immigration detention system. The irony is that ICE touts Hutto as a flagship facility, emblematic of its commitment to reform. Clearly, that commitment is shallow. ICE has ignored repeated calls for increased and independent oversight and accountability of its immigration detention facilities and the private contractors like CCA who run them, and tragedies like this are the unfortunate result. It is time for ICE officials to live up to their promise of creating a ‘truly civil' immigration detention system that does not tolerate the abuse and degradation of its detainees."

The following can be attributed to Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas:

"It is long past time to close the book on ICE's relationship with CCA. If this administration is serious about reform, it cannot continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars every month on a private contractor that has proven over and again it is demonstrably incapable of running a safe and humane facility. Immigrant women, many of whom who have fled to the United States seeking refuge from sexual violence, should not fear more of the same in the hands of ICE and its contractors. Zero tolerance starts at the top. The only way for ICE to restore integrity to its system is to immediately sever its contract with CCA and begin a new era of transparency and accountability."

KXAN: Eight Victims ID'd in Hutto Guard Case

Eight victims ID'd in Hutto guard case
Tensions mounting between facility, county

Updated: Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 5:22 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010, 9:21 AM CDT

Jackie Vega
TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) - Williamson County authorities said Friday that eight victims had been identified in connection with a former transport officer at the T. Don Hutto immigration detention facility , who police say groped several women he was supposed to be taking to airports and bus stations.

No sexual assault charges have been filed, however -- although Williamson County officials said they may be later on.

Currently, Donald Charles Dunn, 30, faces three charges of official oppression and two charges of unlawful restraint in connection with five victims police said were molested in Williamson County.

Charges have not yet been filed in connection with three more victims authorities said were attacked in Travis County.

President Obama and Congressional members have been briefed on this case because of its association with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Nineteen women have been interviewed so far, from Texas to Florida to Washington D.C., and another 11 still could be victims -- though they haven't been located. In his year of employment at the Taylor facility, Dunn transported 72 people from the facility - where they were being bonded out -- to airports or bus stations, so they could wait for their immigration hearings in locations near family or friends or employment.

Thirty of the people he transported were women.

Williamson County officials said that they were tightening their grip over the facility being run by the Corrections Corporation of America after it was discovered during the investigation that Dunn was not supposed to be transporting those women alone -- but that the facility was required, for the women's safety, to have two officers on board the vehicle with the detainees.

CCA is a private, for-profit company that runs jail and detention facilities, and has come under fire for cutting corners.

Dunn was arrested in Austin Thursday after police said he admitted stopping the van during the early morning trips, at locations in Williamson and Travis counties, and touching them inappropriately for his own "self gratification."

Dunn, a resident supervisor at the facility and employee of Correction Corporation of America, told officers that on these trips, "he told the women he was going to 'frisk' them and then inappropriately touched their breasts, crotch and buttocks," according to a news release by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.

"Mr. Dunn indicated to Detectives that he had done this to numerous other women while performing his duties as a transport officer," the release said.

Dunn told officers he had done this with several women, while he was transporting them late at night, and would stop at several locations in Williamson and Travis counties to abuse them on the way to Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

The women were being given the rides to the airport and bus stations as a courtesy while they were out on bond, awaiting immigration hearings.

The first report came on May 11 when Austin police told Williamson County Sheriff's deputies that a woman had alerted an airport official that she had been abused on the way to the airport from the facility in Taylor. That's when detectives met with Dunn and listened to his description of groping "numerous women" while doing his duties as a transport officer.

"A large scale investigation into the current locations of other possible victims began immediately after Mr. Dunn’s interview," the news release said. "Detectives from Williamson County and Immigration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Office of Professional Responsibility/San Antonio) set out to make contact with several of the possible victims, who had located across the country since bonding out of the facility.

"Mr. Dunn was subsequently terminated from his contract employment with Correction Corporation of America when the allegation was first reported to authorities."

The investigation revealed that all of the possible victims of Dunn had been released on bond from the facility and were being transported to the Austin-Bergstrom Airport or bus station when the attacks occurred.

It was during these "courtesy transports" that Dunn would stop at different locations in the areas of both Travis and Williamson County.

Three women said they'd been inappropriately touched.Two of those victims said they were taken against their will to a location near a convenience store, during which one woman said she thought she'd either be killed or raped.

"Several (other) women who were interviewed denied any contact with Mr. Dunn," the statement read. "Some of those advised that they were transported in the daylight hours and or it was raining. Several women could not be located for questioning because of out of date addresses with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

Dunn was arrested Thursday around 5 p.m. and posted bail on a $35,000 bond Friday.

The investigation is still ongoing at this time. Anyone having information about a victim or Dunn’s crimes is encouraged

News Coverage: Houston's El Día Highlights the Movement against Family Detention

A Spanish-language newspaper in Houston, Texas, published a feature on Hutto and family detention:

Familias inmigrantes encarceladas: Unidas, pero en el sufrimiento  

Huyen de las guerras, de las pandillas, de la violencia doméstica y cuando llegan a solicitar asilo, terminan encerrados con sus hijos en una cárcel de inmigración.

José Carrera

DIARIO EL DÍA

HOUSTON.— Es un edificio acondicionado con todas las comodidades. Allí, incluso, las familias pueden aprender inglés y hasta pueden dormir en camas cómodas. Además, les dan consejería a las madres para que, supuestamente, sean mejores madres. Reciben cuidados médicos de calidad y por sobre todo, el objetivo de este centro es mantener a las familias juntas para que no se extrañen. ¿Es este lugar un centro comunitario o un centro de albergue de familias necesitadas? No exactamente. Se trata más bien del Centro Residencial Familiar T. Don Hutto, como lo dice la Agencia de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés). Hasta los que les contamos antes, el objetivo del centro parece noble y su nombre suena bonito y hasta atractivo. Lo que sucede adentro, sin embargo, ha sido motivo de demandas judiciales, denuncias públicas y ha indignado a muchos.

En realidad se trata exactamente de una prisión. Está ubicada a unas 150 millas de Houston, al noreste de Austin, donde actualmente se encuentran encerrados 500 inmigrantes indocumentados en vía de deportación o que están esperando la aceptación de su petición de asilo político en los Estados Unidos.

Revueltos, pero no juntos

De los 500 inmigrantes, unos 120 son madres con cerca de 130 niños –entre ellos varios recién nacidos- y unas 250 mujeres sin niño. Así se lo contó a El Día Bob Libal, miembro de “Grassroots Leadership” con sede en Austin y que junto a otras organizaciones de Texas y de todo Estados Unidos, están librando una batalla masiva para que todos los detenidos sean liberados y luego clausurar definitivamente la prisión, a la que llaman al “Guantánamo de Texas”.

La prisión Hutto fue habilitada por ICE en mayo de 2006 tras firmar un acuerdo intergubernamental con el condado Williamson para de esa manera poner un fin al sistema de “atrapado y luego liberado”, que consiste en que los indocumentados arrestados por la ‘migra’ salen libres con la promesa expresa de que se presentarán ante un juez de inmigración. “Sin embargo, antes de la apertura de Hutto, era rara la vez que se presentaban”, dice ICE. Y agrega: “Antes, los coyotes preferían traer a adultos con niños con la intención de evitar que los ilegales sean detenidos”.

Campaña de 100 días

“Nuestra meta es lograr que el presidente Barack Obama ordene el cierre de esta prisión. El sabe lo que sucede adentro de esta cárcel desde que andaba en campaña política”, expresó Libal. “Es vergonzoso encerrar a niños en una cárcel”, añadió. En Houston también hay un movimiento fuerte de abogados, líderes comunitarios y principalmente estudiantes universitarios que educan al público hispano y a la misma sociedad americana sobre los sufrimientos de las familias inmigrantes en Hutto.

Uno de los grupos más activos son los que forman parte de Estudiantes por una Sociedad Democrática (SDS, por sus siglas en inglés), que en la actualidad están en medio de una campaña de cien días en la que incluyen protestas frente a la prisión Hutton en Taylor, vigilias, recolección de firmas y manifestación en Houston delante del centro de detención de inmigrantes. En días recientes, el SDS armó una minicelda en el “Butler Plaza” de la Universidad de Houston, donde se encerraron familias completas y niños, para de esa manera concientizar a los estudiantes sobre los terribles efectos que tiene el encierro sobre las familias inmigrantes.

Rechazan la lógica del gobierno federal

Rob Block, miembro de SDS, y otros compañeros ya juntaron en Houston más de 600 firmas –a nivel nacional 47 mil- que serán enviadas al presidente Obama y al Departamento de Seguridad Interna –de la que forma parte el ICE- expresándoles su indignación sobre esta prisión y exigen su cierre.

“En ninguna circunstancia es justo aprisionar a los niños que no han cometido ningún crimen. Hutto es un claro ejemplo de cuán obsoleto es el actual sistema migratorio”, comentó Block. El y otros activistas rechazan la lógica del gobierno federal de poner a los padres (en este caso en su gran mayoría madres) indocumentados con sus hijos como una manera para mantenerlos unidos.”Es una buena premisa pero una mala solución. La prisión no es una herramienta para lidiar con la inmigración”, acotó.

Cárceles privadas = $$$

De acuerdo con “Grassroots Leadership”, Hutto deja una ganancia directa al condado Williamson unos 246.000 dólares por año, mientras que CCA recibe de ICE cerca de 2.8 millones de dólares mensualmente. Cada inmigrante encerrado costaría al gobierno federal unos 95 dólares por día, mientras que otras estimaciones indican que el costo real es 200 dólares por día. De ser así, comentan, convendría más poner a los inmigrantes presos en el hotel Hilton y todavía les sobrará mucho dinero. CCA opera alrededor de 70 centros de detenciones, cárceles y prisiones en 20 estados, 15 de ellas en Texas, añade Grassroots.

Stephanie Caballero, estudiante de Ciencias Políticas y Estudios Latinoamericanos en la Universidad de Houston, busca que más personas, especialmente los estudiantes, se unan al movimiento en contra de la proliferación de las cárceles privadas en donde los humildes inmigrantes –no aquellos que hayan cometido crímenes serios- son encerrados. “Queremos que los estudiantes se levanten para presionar a los poderosos”, dijo. “Estas cárceles no deben seguir existiendo. Tener prisiones como éstas es inmoral e inhumano”. Su parecer es que los niños no deben ser encerrados en prisiones, muchos menos por razones migratorias y especialmente para que los únicos beneficiados sean las empresas que promueven el aumento de las cárceles privadas.

Ella ha participado en varias protestas en Taylor y cada vez que se encuentra en el lugar siente una gran indignación. “Muy enojada”, dijo al contestar la pregunta sobre qué siente al visitar esa prisión. “Esta gente de ICE y CCA no tiene conciencia, no tiene moral. Cómo es que pueden tratar a los inmigrantes como criminales. No lo puedo creer. ¿Esto está pasando en mi propio estado?”, aseveró.

Es inhumano encarcelar a niños y mujeres

Delfina Pei, estudiante de tercer año de Ciencias Políticas en UH, comentó: “Me gustaría ver que todas estas prisiones privadas sean cerradas. Al proveer menos servicios a los inmigrantes encerrados, cárceles como Hutto están ganando más dinero”, expresó. Añade que al acercarse a la prisión Hutto, la primera cosa que le llama la atención es la zona de juegos para los niños, pero al prestar más atención, ve que todo el complejo carcelario está rodeado de altos cercos con alambre de púa. “Es un lugar donde no quisieras ver a tus hijos crecer”, comentó.

Lisa Delaune, madre de dos hijos y miembro de la organización WHEW, que presta ayuda a mujeres de minorías que acaban de salir de la cárcel o que no tienen casas o hayan sido víctima de violencia doméstica, se “encerró” en la celda de protesta en la Universidad de Houston para mandar un mensaje al público: “La inmigración ilegal no debería ser lo mismo que criminalidad. Es inhumano encarcelar a niños y mujeres. Como madre simplemente me indigna el solo hecho imaginar que tengo que estar encerrada en un cárcel con mis hijos de 6 y 12 años”.

Cambio a fuerza de demanda

•    La Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU) ha presentado el año pasado una demanda para obligar a al ICE mejorar las condiciones de vida de los niños en la prisión Hutto. Muchos de los niños a los que ACLU representó ya salieron libres y se están quedando con otros familiares.

•    De acuerdo a ACLU, la demanda surgió debido a la Hutto viola varias provisiones de una decisión de corte de 1997 “Flores vs. Meese”, que estableció ciertos requisitos que deben cumplir en la forma de tratar a los menores que se encuentran bajo la custodia federal.

La demanda contra ICE permite a ACLU a ingresar a Hutto para monitorear si se ha cumplido 

o no los acuerdos de corte, pero este derecho se vence en agosto y los activistas temen que la situación se empeore. Tras la demanda contra ICE, éstas son algunas de las condiciones expuestas en el trato que en busca de mejoras dentro de dicho centro de detención

•    Niños mayores de 12 años tendrán la libertad de movilizarse libremente dentro de las instalaciones.

•    Todos los niños contarán con un médico pediatra las 24 horas del día.

•    No se usará más el sistema de conteo de tiempo para evitar que las familias no estén forzadas a permanecer 12 horas del día dentro de una celda.

•    Se instalarán cortinas alrededor de las salas sanitarias (toilets y duchas).

•    Se les ofrecerán paseos recreacionales a los niños.

•    Los niños tendrán nuevos juguetes, y nuevos libros.

•    Se mejorarán los menús (valor nutricional).

•    ICE también permitirá la orientación legal por parte de organizaciones comunitarias.

•    Permitir la visita por parte de familiares y amigos los siete días de la semana.

•    La agencia (ICE) solo llevará al centro Hutto a las familias que estén por ser deportadas.

La alternativa a la prisión Hutto

-    Cerrar esta prisión.

-    Que las madres y sus hijos indocumentados sean dejados libres sin pagar fianza, esto hasta que se resuelva sus casos migratorios en corte.

-    Si van a pagar fianza, no sea más de 1.500 dólares -que los niños queden con otros familiares.

-    Implementar un sistema de monitoreo (grillete electrónico, etc.) de los que salen libres.

Fuente: “Grassroots Leadership”

Las frases

-    “Ser indocumentado no es lo mismo que ser criminal. Es muy normal que las personas traten de buscar mejoras para su familia”. Stephanie Caballero, estudiante de Ciencias Políticas.

-    “Nuestra meta es lograr que el presidente Barack Obama ordene el cierre de esta prisión”. Bob Libal, miembro de “Grassroots Leadership”.

-    “Me gustaría ver que todas estas prisiones privadas sean cerradas”. Delfina Pei, estudiante de Ciencias Políticas en UH.

-    “Como madre simplemente me indigna el solo hecho imaginar que tengo que estar encerrada en un cárcel con mis hijos de 6 y 12 años”. Lisa Delaune, la organización WHEW.

Documental de sufrimiento y lucha

"The Least of These" es un documental sobre la prisión de Hutto y la lucha por mejorar las condiciones adentro o inclusive para cerrarlo. La cinta ya fue estrenada en Austin y ya hay en DVD.

Llanto de niños

Algunos testimonios de niños encerrados en esta prisión. Muchos de ellos ya salieron libres, mientras que otros siguen encerrados.

•    “Tengo miedo de los guardias”.

•    “Nos tratan como si no fuéramos nadie”.

•    “Estoy aterrorizada de que me separen de mi madre. No me puedo imaginar cómo será mi vida sin ella”.

•     Estoy muy deprimida y sin madre creo que me volveré totalmente loca”.

•     “No me gusta quedarme en esta cárcel. Tengo solamente nueve años de edad. Este lugar no es bueno para mí. Quisiera salir de la celda”.  Fuente: ACLU

Taylor Daily Press: The T. Don Hutto Question

Philip Jankowski weighed different sides of the T. Don Hutto controversy--jobs, county revenue, and the morality of detaining potential citizens-- in the Taylor Daily Press on Monday:

Today county higher ups will make their most controversial annual decision: whether or not to continue the operation of T. Don Hutto Residential Facility.

The facility draws lines in this community between those who support the detention of those who enter the country illegally and those appalled that our government would keep children in a prison.

In its third year in Taylor, the former medium-security prison is now a lightning rod for the ACLU, who accuses the facility of violating immigrants’ civil rights, and LULAC, who seeks to defend the rights of a prison population whose vast majority is Hispanic or Latino.

It is not my place to pass judgement on the facility or the policies that brought it into existence. Each side’s argument holds merit.

America is a nation of immigrants. Our economy relies on the low-cost labor of illegal immigrants. How can we hold these people behind bars?

Yet with the challenges of a country that faces psychotic insurgents hell bent on causing destruction inside our borders, how can we not detain those who enter it illegally?

Locally, the question of revenue comes to mind. The facility brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for the city and the school district. It provides well paid jobs for unskilled workers. Corrections Corporation of America has offered continued annual raises to Hutto employees at wages that are more than competitive with typical jobs that do not require a college degree.

But is the financial upside nothing more than selling our morals one tax dollar at a time?

No matter what you call it, T. Don Hutto is a prison. It has 12-foot fences strung with razor-sharp barbed wire. And it is designed for families. Not criminals. Not one immigrant currently housed there is guilty of any other crime than wanting to be an American.

To its credit, the facility has made improvements over its dubious beginnings. It has been redecorated to appear more kid friendly. Detainee turnaround has reduced greatly. Yet some of those improvements were the result of a law suit filed by the ACLU and The University of Texas Law School.

The current freedoms of the facility should have been in place at its opening. Government should not have been forced into treating these children ethically, it should have led the way.

And since then, the facility has continued to linger ominously. Immigrations Custom Enforcement continues to keep security as tight as a snare drum. Reporters are let in once annually.

Even when rarely blessed with positive press, the facility remained closed. In one instance I had a heated back and forth to get in and take a bland and benign photo of a former employee who painted cartoon caricatures on the cinder block walls. In the end, a staff member of the prison ended up taking that photo. It was pretty bad.

Maybe it’s the reporter in me, but the more I’m kept out of a place, the more I feel like something is going on inside that ICE does not want people to see.

Regardless, I do not envy the decision commissioners make today. I expect scores of protesters and people to curse the commissioners’ decision, whatever it is.

Austin, Texas: Toy drive for families at Hutto

The University of Texas Immigration Law Clinic is collecting toys for children detained at Hutto, to be delivered close to the Christmas holiday.  Help make their Christmas merry and bright by donating toys made in the USA and  in their original packaging. Hutto could also use:

- books for kids of all ages as well as adults, especially those in Spanish, Arabic, Chaldean, Urdu, Portuguese, and Creole;

- CDs or DVDs (please, no movies rated above PG-13 or with sexual or violent scenes and no music with a parental advisory sticker);

- gently used coats, jackets, sweaters, and other warm clothes for kids or adults;

- phone cards.

Please bring any donations to the next Austin Immigrant Rights Council meeting (Dec. 18, 7-9 p.m. at Cristo Rey Church) OR contact Karla Vargas KMV229 at gmail dot com any time. 

Your gifts are deeply appreciated!

ICE responds to anti-family detention op-ed

In response to Barbara Hines' op-ed published in the Dallas Morning New opposing new proposed family detention centers, ICE field director Marc J. Moore wrote the following comment:

"Hutto center picture incomplete"

Re: "There's a better way – ICE should not be accepting bids to build new family detention centers, says Barbara Hines," last Monday Viewpoints.

Since its inception, the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Center has been a safe and humane alternative to separating the families who enter the country illegally.

Many positive changes have been made. Families have access to high-quality medical, mental health and dental care 24 hours a day. Children attend school seven hours a day with state-certified teachers who provide a curriculum based on state standards. There are many recreational and social activities for all residents and few restrictions on movement throughout the facility.

Many of the conditions mentioned in the column have not existed for some time. The razor-wire fence shown in the picture accompanying the column was removed more than a year ago. ICE has taken a proactive approach to enhancing the facility since it opened. Many of the improvements were in place, under way or planned before the lawsuit referred to in the column was filed.

--Marc J. Moore, field office director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, San Antonio

Now take action!

Please take the time today, if possible, to write a letter to the Dallas Morning News stressing the inappropriate nature of family detention and Hutto. Letters can be sent using the site's online form, and should be 50-200 words in length. Letters can include the following points:

1) Detention of immigrant children and their families is inappropriate, costly, and inhumane. The experience at Hutto, a converted medium security prison operated by a private prison corporation where children as young as infants have been held with their parents, demonstrates that detention of families is a tragic response to the immigration issue. In addition, at an estimated cost of more than $200 a day per detainee at Hutto, the financial cost of such detention is unreasonably high, especially when more humane and cost-effective alternatives exist.

2) Congress has called on ICE to fund alternatives to family detention, saying that detention of immigrant children and their families should be the last alternative, not the first. ICE should be listening to the wishes of Congress and implementing alternatives to detention rather than soliciting new family detention centers. These alternative to detention programs are effective at ensuring that immigrants return to their immigration hearings and are much less costly than detention.

Thank you for your continued efforts to end family detention and close the T. Don Hutto detention center.

More Information on ICE's New Family Detention Centers

Last week, we heard that ICE is soliciting bids for new family detention centers.  From the look of it, the bid solicitation should implement ICE's new Family Residential Standards. We will continue to follow the bidding process and keep you updated on any decisions about new facilities.  For now, here are some more details on what ICE would like the new centers to look like:

Exerpts from Solicitation Number HSCEDM-08-r-0005:

“This pre-solicitation is for the procurement of up to three (3) non-criminal family residential facilities with the capacity to house a maximum population of 200 residents each using minimal security for juveniles and their families in a safe and secure environment while in the custody of the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is expected families may be comprised of a ratio of up to three (3) juveniles to every one (1) adult….The facility is to be in a least restrictive, non-secure setting but must meet all state welfare laws and education requirements related to operating family shelter type facilities…. Additionally, program and services provided should be able to: 

-meet state childcare licensing requirements and regulations (not necessarily licensed but licensable); 

-adhere to all state and local building codes; 

-adhere to all fire, health, and safety codes; 

-provide suitable living accommodations for residents; 

-provide for food, appropriate clothing, personal hygiene and grooming needs for residents; 

-provide a "least restrictive" environment for families consisting of adults and minors of all ages who are detained on the premises; 

-provide appropriate medical, mental health and dental care; 

-provide emergency health care services including a complete medical examination for all juveniles within forty-eight (48) hours of admission (excluding weekends and holidays) and within fourteen (14) days for adults; 

-administer appropriate immunizations to all juveniles; 

-administer prescribed medicines to all residents; 

-provide educational instruction for school aged juveniles in basic competencies as required by applicable state law (Monday through Friday); 

-provide library services in languages other than English; 

-provide both juveniles and adults recreational, leisure and acculturation activities and services; 

-provide access to religious services; 

-provide visitation with family and friends not residing at the facility; 

-provide phone access; 

-and securely maintain all case records as confidential.”

In addition to the official solicitation, the website includes guidance documents on building design, residential standards, quality monitoring and accountability, and staffing.  Attachment 2 covers building design criteria, and is particularly interesting, given this blog’s concerns about the use of a former prison for family detention.  The Master Plan gives 2 sample layouts for family residential facilities, a “campus” and a “single-building plan.”

The campus model is “more rural than urban,” organized around “a centralized quad or green space.”   In addition, the administration building, through which visitors and detainees enter the facility, should be “non-institutional, warm, welcoming and incorporate such features as a gabled or sloped roof for a more residential style/appeal.”  The residental buildings should be arranged as follows:  

“The two resident living units should be located such that the front doors of the units open onto the quad/green space. The educational and indoor recreational program buildings also face onto the quad/green space and are easily accessible to the resident living units…. The site should provide numerous open/green space areas for both large and small group recreational and educational program opportunities to take place. Fenced-in play areas for toddlers are located directly adjacent to the living units, allowing for parent supervision.  Soccer, volleyball and basketball areas should be nearby but separated from the living units.  The main quad shall also provide small group gathering areas for the residents to gather or for staff to utilize for different program services.” (pg. 8)

The single building plan contains the same basic components as the campus plan, but in a single building, with green space around the building.  This plan is “more conducive to an urban site.”  This building is organized as follows:

“A centralized interior circulation spine acts as the organizer to which the components of the [facility] are attached.  The administrative functions are located near the front entry to the site. The appearance of the administration building should be non-institutional, warm, welcoming and incorporate such features as a gabled or sloped roof for a more residential style/appeal.  The resident living units are located along the main circulation spine and surround a common outdoor activity/program service area.  All of the resident services functions are also located along the main circulation spine, each having a designated entry or “store front” appearance, similar to a mall concept. The location of these functions will allow for easy access by residents.  The services located along the main spine include recreational and educational programs, resident services, visitation, health services, library and dining…. The site provides numerous open/green space areas for both large and small group recreational and educational program opportunities to take place.  Fenced in play areas for toddlers are located directly adjacent to the living units, allowing for parent supervision, while the soccer, volleyball and basketball areas are nearby, but separate from the living units.” (pg. 9)

Stay tuned for updates on the bidding process!