Posted on 06/24/2007 4:01:19 PM PDT by Dubya
TAYLOR -- The tall fence, small cells and prison scrubs are familiar to Yvette Richardson, a Richland Hills resident who said she used to work at a Texas prison.
"I know what it's like on the inside," Richardson said.
"It's no place for a child."
Richardson was among an estimated 400 to 500 people who gathered in front of the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility on Saturday to protest the detainment of immigrant children and their parents.
Civil liberties advocates contend that families detained at Hutto are subjected to psychologically abusive guards, inadequate medical care and inhumane conditions in an immigration center they say is run like a prison. They sued federal officials in March on behalf of several children detained at Hutto.
"There are hundreds of children in this facility and it is a prison," said Bob Libal of Texans United for Families. "We don't think immigrant families should be held in prison."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, however, say the Hutto facility is a civilized way of keeping families together while they seek asylum, await deportation or seek other outcomes to their immigration cases.
The facility is one of two immigration detention centers in the United States; the other facility is in Leesport, Pa.
The Hutto facility was in the news this year when a Richardson resident of Palestinian heritage and her four children were held there for 12 weeks.
The protest, part of International Refugee Day, was hosted by several peace coalitions, such as Amnesty International, Children and Families for Humane Treatment Alliance, and the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Some protesters, like Jennifer Helber, attended the rally to raise awareness.
"Hutto is not reported like Paris Hilton," Helber said.
Several protesters wore T-shirts that read "No child left behind bars." They chanted, "Shut down Hutto" and "No justice, no peace" and held signs that read "Don't jail families for profit" and "No human being is illegal."
"I would like for immigration officials to use their common sense, take the children out of prison and put the families on electronic monitoring," said Clarence Memfis Madyun of Duncanville.
"That's a lot more humane than what they've been doing."
This report includes material from The Associated Press.
The Hutto facility
The 75,000-square-foot T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility houses about 290 immigrants, mostly children, from Central America and countries including Ethiopia, Greece, Haiti, Iraq, Romania and Russia.
The Department of Homeland Security opened the prison in May 2006 after Congress criticized the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "catch-and-release" policy, which allowed families involved in immigration proceedings to stay free until their hearings. Some families never showed up for their court dates, immigration officials said.
Detainment? I know what detention is, but detainment?
“We don’t think immigrant families should be held in prison.”
Me either , step up the deportment progress & ship them the heck home ASAP or to the next country of their choice.
I’m glad they are no longer breaking up families. They should all be sent back home together!
Waaaa! First the lefties bitch about "breaking up families". When we keep all the criminals together, they bitch about that too. Ship them back to their home country. Deduct the travel cost from any foreign aid designated for that country. It's a net win for the taxpayers.
Personally, I’d treat them as spies... They are soldiers out of uniform, part of an invading army that plans to steal our jobs, schools, hospitals, culture, and whatever else they can.
Stay home in Guatemala Mexico or what have you. I’m fresh out of compassion. This is an invasion
Blame the scum bag immigration lawyers. Deportations would be much quicker if they weren’t gumming up the works. Be sure to deport a few immigration lawyers too
Deport them, all of them, the sooner the better.
The attitudes of these people, toward the Rule of Law, is disgusting.
Oh come on...their illegals...they’ve got food and shelter most likely better than in their own country. Leave ‘em in the center.
Don’t try to get our sympathy or blame the American people for this. The politicians, lawyers, big business, etc are the ones you should be blaming.
Also, please go back to your own country. We are not your keepers.
Let me see if I understand the author's reasoning: people entered the US illegally or are residing in the US illegally. They're caught and, they and their family, all illegally in the US, are sent to a facility such as this.
And this is our fault!?
"It's no place for a child". Okay, take issue with the parents. It is THEIR illegal action that caused the kids to be there, in the first place.
"We don't think immigrant families should be held in prison." This is statement is living proof that you can't fix stupid.
These (touted as) family oriented people that would leave their children are certainly NOT family oriented.
If I got legally removed from where I am and have a family, they ALL are going with me to my country of origin.
The have no family values if they would leave their children behind.
“... children of Aziza Mohamed and tells the story of her continued detainment at Hutto.”
That name doesn’t sound mexican
That's why the term is "illegal immigrant," not "illegal person." Or are you actually stupid enough to suggest that since "No human being is illegal," that therefore an "illegal killer" should not be arrested or punished?
Logic doesn’t work on 3rd world invaders. I’ve heard every lie and wacko justification from every ethnic group. It’s all about power. Do they have the power to invade and do we have the power to fence them out, to deny them illegal entry.
““We don’t think immigrant families should be held in prison.””
I agree. Deport them to whatever thirdworld craphole they came from.
There should be no reason to hold these folks for more that 48-72 hours. Then - next plane out!
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