Is Hutto Family Prison a model for FEMA CAMPS?

T. Don Hutto Residential Center, 1001 Welch St., Taylor, 218-2400 Watch this short film on the T. Don Hutto "residential facility", the nations for-profit family prison for non-criminal immigrant families. This prototype for privatized family detention is located just north of Austin, TX. As they get rich off our tax-dollars, corporations terrorize and traumatize families just trying to keep survive. A determined people stand in solidarity with the families inside Hutto and work to close this immoral prison Written by Rob Heidrick Friday, 13 February 2009 The T. Don Hutto Residential Center, an immigrant detention facility in Taylor, will continue to operate under a contract renewed by the Williamson County Commissioners Court Dec. 23. The 512-bed center holds families of non-criminal immigrants as they await rulings on whether they will be allowed to remain in the country. A private company, Corrections Corporation of America, owns and operates the facility with funds from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office. The county plays an administrative role under the contract, acting as a local go-between and financial agent in exchange for roughly $15,000 in administrative fees each month. ICE pays CCA $2.8 million a month for operating expenses, which first must pass through the county, according to the original contract. The Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to extend the agreement until Jan. 11, 2011. Only Precinct One Commissioner Lisa Birkman voted against the measure. “We’re supporting the federal government’s stand on immigration, and this affords the opportunity for the families to be able to stay together,” Williamson County Precinct Four Commissioner Ron Morrison said. “If the current government changes its stand on immigration, I’m sure we’ll change our stand on it as well.” History: T. Don Hutto is a former medium-security prison that was converted into a family detention center in 2006, making it the second of its kind in operation. Per ICE standards, families are housed together, but are separated by gender. Morrison estimated that residents remain in the facility for an average of 40 to 45 days, some staying as little as two or three days and some as long as six months. The average length of stay in ICE centers nationwide was just more than 30 days in 2008, according to ICE. Some county residents have protested the conditions inside the complex, claiming it retains prison-like qualities that are unsuitable for families with children. “There are detention facilities that are appropriate for families,” said Jose Orta, president of Taylor’s chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “This facility, which was once a medium-security prison, is not appropriate to detain families, especially children.” Lawsuit: In 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against ICE, alleging that T. Don Hutto violated federal guidelines governing the treatment of detained minors. The ACLU and its clients claimed the facility was being run as a prison, with child detainees forced to remain inside cells most of the day while wearing prison uniforms. ICE settled the suit and agreed to a set of conditions to make the center more family friendly, including improvements to educational facilities, better access to medical care and more time outdoors for children. “We can’t hide the fact that it has been a prison,” Morrison said. “At least [the children] are staying with their moms and their dads and they’re not being separated. That’s the reason I continue to vote for the contract.” After the settlement, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department began sending officers on random inspections of T. Don Hutto to ensure satisfactory conditions are being met. No violations have been reported. Options: Orta and others in the community contend that there are alternative ways of detaining immigrant families that would be more suitable than the former prison. Orta suggested that the center relocate to a vacant nursing home facility in Taylor, where electronic ankle bracelets could be used to monitor residents. “If T. Don Hutto closed, I would imagine that the children and their families would be transferred to another facility that is more family oriented,” Orta said. Morrison said he would support relocating detainees to the former nursing home, but the county could not operate the center without the current funding arrangement. “I’d like to see a different facility than a refurbished jail, but that’s what’s available,” Morrison said. “If they close it, does that mean we’re going to stop immigration? No. It means that it goes someplace else, probably not in our county.” The contract between Williamson County and CCA was last amended in October 2007 with the addition of a clause protecting the county from liability in any future lawsuits. Defining the county’s role * Williamson County is the local administrator of the contract between the federal government and Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that owns and operates the T. Don Hutto Residential Center. * The county’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office is called an Intergovernmental Service Agreement, or IGA. This partnership allows the federal government to fund and remotely manage T. Don Hutto while the county monitors the conditions at the facility. * ICE pays Williamson County $2.8 million each month, and the county immediately passes the funds on to CCA, withholding an administrative fee of $1 per detainee per day. In this system, the county earns about $15,000 a month. * In 2007 the county amended its contract with CCA to include a liability protection clause. In the event that someone files a lawsuit against T. Don Hutto, CCA guarantees up to $250,000 in legal fees to support the county. * More than 300 ICE detention facilities are operated under state or local IGAs. This accounts for about two-thirds of the total ICE population. For more information on T. Don Hutto and immigration, visit www.correctionscorp.com or www.dhs.gov/index.shtm.