New wing being considered for Hutto

Read the full posting at KLBJ.

This morning, the Williamson County Commissioners will consider a proposal to create a new wing of the T Don Hutto Residential Center. The former prison in Taylor is used by Immigration and Custom's Enforcement (ICE) to detain immigrant families awaiting immigration or asylum hearings.

ICE is suggesting that about half of T Don Hutto be used to detain non-criminal females. Right now, about 250 men, women, and children are being held at the former prison, which has the capacity to hold 500 people.

and from the Houston Chronicle:

Commissioner Cynthia Long said she is comfortable adding more female detainees, saying new measures have been put in place to prevent future incidents. Some of those include more staff training and education on how to operate video and security equipment.

The contract change surprised some residents opposed to the facility.

"I'm so adamant that this is wrong, but I don't know how we can go about changing this mind-set," said Jose Orta, president of the Taylor chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens. "This is just adding more fuel to the fire for us."

Crime without Punishment: Sexual Assault at Hutto

In May of 2007, a guard had sex with a female detainee at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center.
Federal law criminalizes sex between detained inmates and guards, regardless of whether the relations are consensual. However, ICE falls within a loophole- only recently fixed through Congressional action- that prevented the prosecution of the guard.

Following an open records request filed by the Taylor Daily Press, ICE released 80 pages of the investigation (the original document contains over 400 pages, including names, ages, identifying information, a photo of the alleged victim and detailed testimony from both parties. The rest is redacted or blacked out.)

Please read Tessa Mole's whole article in the Taylor Daily Press. Below are highlights.

On Saturday, May 19, a guard was videotaped just before midnight crawling out of a detainee's room, “in an attempt to avoid the (security) camera.” ...Security officers monitoring the cameras saw him leaving the woman's room and contacted CCA supervisors.

According to the ICE reports, later viewings of security tapes show the guard entering the room on two occasions that night - once at 11:29 p.m. and leaving at 11:36, when he is shown “adjusting his pants around the belt area.” He reentered at 11:37 p.m. before crawling out about 10 minutes later.

The outcome of the investigation, which included testimony from both parties, semen samples found on the concrete floor of the room, fingerprints on the toilet seat and sink and surveillance tapes of the common area where the guard patrolled, was nothing.

Both state and federal prosecutors have since said they could not pursue the case.

The guard was immediately placed on administrative leave; he was officially fired the next day.

... the alleged victim's son was in the room during the sexual encounter, according to the ICE report. The son's age was not reported but the victim's room contained a crib.

Jana McCown, first assistant district attorney, said the incident and possible charges of official oppression did not fall under Texas law because T. Don Hutto is a federal detention facility.

NNIRR Conference in Houston

This week in Houston, the National Network on Immigrant and Refugee Rights will be holding its National Conference for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The conference will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 18, 2008 and will go through Sunday, January 20 at 1 p.m.

Workshops will include:

• Lifting Immigrant Voices in the 2008 Elections
• Racism and Immigration: Bridging Communities in the Post-Katrina Era
• Organizing and Communications Skills Development
• Border and Interior Immigration Law Enforcement
• Globalization and Migration: Addressing "Root Causes"
• Promoting the Human Rights of Im/Migrants
• Immigration, Labor and Workers Rights
• Immigration Policy and Legislation
• Popular Education for Transformative Community Organizing

On Wednesday, January the 16th at 8pm, 5 short films on struggles for human dignity and freedom of movement. Click here for more information including directions, descriptions of films, and flyers or here to hear KPFT's (Houston) interview with the filmmakers and a conference organizer.
Rice Cinema is located on Rice University Campus at Entrance #8, University and Stockton Ave

Government posts standards for family detention

As stipulated in the ACLU and UT Immigration settlement last fall, the government has published federal standards on family detention. Because this practice is so new, there have previously been no standardized guidelines for protocol and accountability. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Read the Austin-American Statesmen's full report.

By Juan Castillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The first-ever federal standards for immigrant women and children held in confinement at facilities in Taylor and Pennsylvania are an improvement, but fall short of ensuring appropriate conditions for families who have committed no crimes, advocates for immigrants and refugees said Friday.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Friday posted the 37 new standards on the agency's Web site. They address education, discipline, use of force, medical care, strip searches, sexual assault and prevention, detainee counts and other issues.

..."We commend the Department of Homeland Security for drafting standards that will improve these facilities," said Michelle Brané with the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children in New York. "However, we continue to be concerned with many provisions of the standards, particularly that they allow children to be disciplined based on adult prison protocol, including the use of restraints, steel batons and strip searches."

Updates from December 16th vigil

(photo courtesy Jay Johnson-Castro)

This past Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the first vigil outside Hutto.

View KVUE's video coverage or News 8 out of Austin. Also, KXAN has footage, though Mac users may have a hard time viewing it.

Anyone with links to Univision's coverage or other media, please let me know.

Read Greg Moses' full article in CounterPunch.

In an act of civil disobedience on Sunday marking the first anniversary of protests against the imprisonment of children at the T. Don Hutto immigrant prison in Taylor, Texas, 100 people carried holiday toys and wrapping paper into the prison lobby. The action at sundown was the first time this year that protesters carried their message onto prison property.

Jaime Martinez, National Treasurer of the League of United Latin American Citizens called for the toy march shortly after 5:30 p.m. Carrying a bullhorn, Martinez informed the protesters that prison officials had made a promise to come out and get the toys at 5 p.m.

When Martinez called for people to take the toys to the children, the crowd pressed forward across a yellow line painted on the driveway marking official prison property and walked up to the lobby of the prison. Accompanying the protesters was LULAC National President Rosa Rosales.

"Bring the toys!" called Martinez from the prison door as volunteers grabbed boxes and bags of toys along with rolls of wrapping paper and rushed to the prison door.

One of the volunteers, Georgetown resident Peter Dana, later described carrying a box of toys through a metal detector. He said he thought about his experience years ago helping to engineer a metal detector.

and from David King of the Taylor Daily Press:

Singing Christmas carols and chanting, “Free the children!” hundreds of activists from Del Rio, San Antonio, Taylor and elsewhere passed the previous line of demarcation and crammed into the foyer. Employees of Corrections Corporation of America, which owns and operates the Taylor facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, opened the doors for the oncoming protesters then quickly made themselves scarce behind closed doors and dimmed lights.

For 20 minutes, the crowd cheered and sang while they delivered hundreds of toys to the children residing at T. Don Hutto.

More description of the vigil and Hutto at Texas Prison Bid'ness.

Thanks to all who came out to the vigil. This is is only the beginning..

8 year old girl separated from mother at Hutto

Yet another grim account from Hutto of a young child being separated from her mother. The 8 year old girl was left alone only guards and ICE staff for 4 days.

An 8 year old child. With no criminal record. Left alone with only guards to look over her. In a prison.

This is the American justice system.

Read full article by ANABELLE GARAY

Immigrant advocates have filed complaints over an 8-year-old girl who was separated from her pregnant mother by immigration authorities and left without her for four days at a detention center established to hold families together.

Attorneys with the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law sent a complaint on Monday to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees detention of immigrants. They also made a complaint to the Texas Department of Protective Services on Nov. 29, said Barbara Hines, a law professor who helps oversee the clinic.

Guards and ICE staff watched over the child for four days and the pair were reunited when they were deported, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said.

ICE officials have previously said detaining families at the facility is meant to help "children remain with parents, their best caregivers" while they are processed for deportation. They also told the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that parents would be at the facility with their children and would be responsible for their care, so state regulation wasn't needed.

But if the state's child care licensing division receives a complaint indicating child care is being provided, it could investigate, said Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Hutto: America's Family Prison

"How the ICE Stole Christmas" Toy Drive Reception

Toy Drive for the kids at Hutto Detention Center
December 6th. 6-9pm.
1401 E 34th Street (on the corner of Lafayette and 34th)

Come as you are and bring an unwrapped toy, book, art supply (everything in its original packaging) or a $5-$10 cash donation. There will be adult beverages and sodas, and some yummy snacks. ALL proceeds from this party will be used to buy toys, books, and art supplies for the children imprisoned in the Hutto facility.

Questions should be directed to Bren at 512.296.0147 or cynthia.bren[at]gmail.com

**If you are unable to attend the toy drive reception, but want to contribute any dollar amount to the toy/book/art supply fund (one dollar is not too small), please give any donations to ProCo's donation collectors: Laura Martin, Maritza Kelley, Caroline O'Connor, or Bren Gorman when you see them in class or in the halls. Also, you can leave donations in a marked envelope in Box 235. All cash donations will go to purchase additional items, and fill in the holes from what we don't collect at the toy drive. We will use the money to purchase educational toys, books, and art supplies to be given to the kids at Hutto for Christmas.


Thank you in advance for your generosity and Happy Holidays!

(Follow link for info on toy recalls this holiday season)
This LBJ event is co-sponsored by the Progressive Collective, the ACLU, and spearheaded by LBJ's own Bren Gorman, an active member of both organizations.

Also, a reminder: UT Law School Immigration Clinic has done a great job in their toy drive (they just delivered 450 toys and 150 books for the children at T. Don Hutto on Dec. 8th). It might be nice to also remember the adults who are also spending a Christmas in detention. Additional items allowed under the Settlement Agreement include donations of appropriate clothing, music and listening equipment, and funds for the commissary. Let's make sure that all family members receive something. A collection site will be available at the Vigil.

Vigil at Hutto Prison, December 16th

The next vigil in support of the families detained in Hutto will be held Sunday, December 16th. It will mark exactly one year since the first vigil calling attention to this travesty. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

(Click here to download PDF version of the flyer to the right (appropriate for small handbills) or here for a more informative version of the flyer. Also available is a brochure outlining the arguments against Hutto and family detention. It contains all the information on the vigil. Please copy and distribute widely.)

Schedule of Events:

Pre-Vigil:
2:00pm- Walk From Heritage Park in Downtown Taylor (4th & Main) to T. Don Hutto Prison
3:00pm- Gather at T. Don Hutto (1001 Welch) for protest, music and chants.

Vigil Events:
4:00pm - Program with various speakers focusing on the immoral detention of families.
5:00pm- Candlelight Vigil and silent remembrance supporting families in detention.

.............................................................................................................................
We invite everyone with an interest in human rights to come and mark the first anniversary of our T. Don Hutto protests with a candle light vigil. A coalition of individuals and groups opposing the illegal and immoral detention of immigrant families with children at the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas, will gather to mark our first year of protests opposing the detention of families and International Migrants Day.

Se invita a todos con interes a los derechos humanos que vengan a notar el primer aniversario de los protestas contra T. Don Hutto con una vigilio con velas. Una coalicion de individuos y grupos opuestos a la ilegal e inmoral detencion de familias de inmigrantes con hijos estan en detencion en el centro, T. Don Hutto se juntan para notar nuestro primer año de protestas contra la detencion de familias y el dia internacional de migrantes.

.............................................................................................................................
Sponsored by: PODER, Texans United For Families, Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice, Free the Children Coalition, Texas Indigenous Council, MADRES, LULAC District 7, Brown Berets of San Antonio, Tx, Southwest Workers Union, CAFHTA, Fuerza Unida.

For more information, contact:
Jose Orta (512) 365-2143 (Taylor) orta_jose[at]hotmail.com
Bob Libal (512) 971-0487 (Austin) boblibal[at]gmail.com
Antonio Diaz (210) 396-9805 (San Antonio) texasindigenouscouncil[at]yahoo.com
Jina Gaytan (210) 884-8597 (San Antonio)


For informations on caravans to the Vigil:
From San Antonio, contact the LULAC National office at (210) 733-5454.
From Dallas, contact Beth beth.freed[at]sbcglobal.net or (214)684.3773

(The Dallas Caravan of Care Part Dos will leave on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. We will most likely return to Dallas between 9 and 10 p.m. Children are welcome and encouraged to participate in this civic duty.
Please meet at the Islamic Center of Irving, 2555 Esters Rd. in Irving. Click here for a map.)

From Austin: The caravans meet at the LBJ School's parking lot at the southwest corner of Red River and Dean Keaton. Caravans will be departing at 1pm and 3pm. The 1pm caravan will get you there in time for the walk, and the 3pm caravan will get you there in time for the vigil from 4-6pm. Everyone should be able to be back to austin by 7pm.

.............................................................................................................................

'Last Sunday' at Ruta Maya Coffee House, Austin, TX

Sunday, November 25, 6:30 p.m.
Last Sunday at Ruta Maya Coffee House
Austin, TX

The "Last Sunday" event in November, with host Sean Tate, will focus on progressive responses to the often reactionary hysteria around immigration issues.
The gathering will feature speakers from the Workers Defense Project - www.workersdefense.org , an Austin worker center that helps low-wage immigrant workers who face unsafe working conditions and predatory employers. Maria Duque, an immigrant worker and WDP board member, and Project Director Cristina Tzintzún will talk about their work and the need for progressive action on the issue.

Also on the bill is a screening of a new short film, "Hutto: America's Family Prison," about the prison-like conditions at the T. Don Hutto "residential facility" in Taylor, TX. About 500 immigrants and asylum-seekers from around the world, more than half of them children, are detained at the prison. Organizers with Texans United for Families - www.texansunited4families.com , a coalition of advocacy and community groups opposed to detention of children and their families, will speak about the campaign to close T. Don Hutto.

Last Sunday co-founder Eliza Gilkyson will be back to perform, joined by co-founder Jim Rigby, who will offer spiritual reflections on immigration politics. The main music for the evening will be provided by Diasporic, Austin's one-of-a-kind funk/hip-hop/jazz/soul quartet.

Location: Ruta Maya Coffee House, 3601 South Congress.
Cost: $8 suggested donation to support the independent artists performing; no one turned away for lack of funds.

I apolgize for the text being so small. More information can be found here.

Immigrant child separated from mom at family detention center

Click here for for article by Annabelle Garay.

DALLAS — An 8-year-old girl was separated from her pregnant mother and left behind for four days at a detention center established to hold immigrant families together while they await outcomes to their cases.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they had to transfer the Honduran woman because she twice resisted attempts to deport her and was potentially disruptive. ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said guards and ICE staff watched over the child after her mother was removed from the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, a former Central Texas prison where non-criminal immigrant families are held while their cases are processed.

But others are critical of the agency's handling of the case, saying it put the girl at risk and is yet another example of why the controversial facility should be closed.

"Here, it's the government itself that has the custody of this child and then leaves her without proper supervision," said Denise Gilman, who oversees the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, which provides legal services to Hutto detainees. "We certainly don't want to see it happen again."

The 28-year-old mother and child lost a bid for asylum and are back in Honduras. But Immigration Clinic attorneys plan to file a complaint with the federal government.

"There is something to complain about, because we're talking about a child's welfare," said Michelle Brane, director of the detention and asylum program at the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. "This is a perfect example of why family detention just doesn't work."

But Irma Banegas of Fort Worth said that's not what happened in the case of her sister and niece. She asked that they not be identified by name due to concerns for their safety in Central America.

Banegas said the mother and daughter told her they cried inconsolably after they were awakened and separated. "They've never been apart," Banegas said of her sister and her niece. Banegas said the pair fled Honduras earlier this year to escape an abusive relationship and growing gang violence in that country, including attacks that scarred her sister.

The agency attempted to deport the woman twice in October, but she wouldn't comply. ICE officials didn't reveal specifics about her efforts to resist deportation.

But as a result, Rusnok said, she was considered a high risk for disruptive behavior and moved to a South Texas detention center in Pearsall on Oct. 18.

"That kind of fear it strikes to the heart of all other children," Gilman said.

Hutto: America's Family Prison

Austin Premiere of Hutto: America's Family Prison, a documentary film about the T Don Hutto facility. The screening will be accompanied by speakers on immigrant detention, former detainees, and the film maker.

Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Friday, Nov 16. 4 pm.
Room 3.109 in Sid Richardson Hall at the LBJ School of the University of Texas.
Near the corner of Red River and Dean Keaton. Sponsored by the Progressive Collective.
Special guest speakers on immigrant detention and filmmaker will be present.
Happy hour to follow at Scholtz Beer Garden at 1607 San Jacinto.

T Don Hutto employs undocumented workers

This from Patricia Ruland's great article in the Austin Chronicle:

The dirty little secret is out: The T. Don Hutto Family Residential Center, a detention facility for immigrant families in Taylor, has employed undocumented workers, as well as contractors with criminal records. The revelation has put Williamson Coun­ty, which administers the center for owner-operator Correc­tions Corporation of America, in an embarrassing legal bind. The infractions, ironic as they are, were cited in an official reprimand of CCA by the U.S. Immigration and Cus­toms Enforcement and addressed to County Judge Dan Gattis on May 23. The reprimand only came to light in October, when WilCo commissioners began airing concerns about mounting liability. But it was an alleged sexual assault of a detainee by a guard on May 19 that was the most likely source of the county's jitters over liability. WilCo and CCA were to "ensure that such an incident not occur again," the reprimand stated.

Again, all this reminds us that Williamson County has its mind only on the potential liability T Don Hutto holds, not on the human conditions inside. And in their single-minded focus on the bottom line, they trip over their own empty morals, employing undocumented workers on one hand while locking them up and labeling them criminals on the other.

Williamson Co. commissioners continue CCA contract

Last Tuesday, the Williamson County commissioners voted unanimously to continue the county's contract with the Corrections Corporation of America, the country's largest for-profit corrections company. After listening to speakers voice their opinion- including 9 speakers against continuing the contract and only one- the warden of T Don Hutto- speak in favor of its continuation, commissioners adjourned and, within minutes, voted unanimously.

At the last assembly the commission held on the subject, CCA shipped in bus loads of its own employees and their children to speak for continuing the contract to save their jobs. Apparently deciding such tactics were too overt (and downright tacky), they scaled back this time. However, whatever closed-door dealings have gone down in the meantime have proven more effective.

Taylor Daily Press reports:

As part of the new contract, CCA offered incentives to remain in the contract including a “no-limit” indemnity provision to the county in which CCA will assume all legal responsibilities and provide legal counsel for the county should a lawsuit arise.

CCA also offered a $250,000 letter of credit to cover legal expenses should the county lose or settle a lawsuit. At $5,000 per month, CCA will also pay for a county employ to act as a liaison between the county, CCA and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and give the county more oversight at the facility.

KXAN quotes commissioner Dan Gattis giving his validation on the county's vote:

"We feel like this is a better clause that gives us more protection from that standpoint and the amendment gives us the opportunity to have somebody on site that can help us understand the day-to-day operations,"

Still, nothing was said to concretely reassure that conditions for those held inside was on anybody's mind, nor that they would be improved from any of this.

(photo by Leah Fillion of the Taylor Daily Press)