Photos by Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr.(Above: Photos from vigil outside migrant prisons in Texas, where babies and children are also imprisoned. Photos 1 is Hutto near Austin, Texas and 2: Bayview-Raymondville.
Hutto prison denied access to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants in May as he tried to investigate the conditions.
MIGRANT BABY JAIL CELL in HUTTO, TEXAS(Photo USA Today) A cell with a baby bed and children's toys is shown at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. The detention facility houses immigrant families awaiting deportation. Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement describe the facility as a residential, nonsecure environment that keeps families together. However, advocacy groups say "it's a prison" and that separation and threats of separation were used as disciplinary tools on adults and children.LM Otero, Pool via APUSA Today: Migrant jails in Texas and Pennsylvaniahttp://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-22-immigration-detention_x.htm
Maggots in migrant food in Raymondville
Prison guard exposes maggots in migrant food at inhumane prison
Interview on Women's Radio online:
ACLU LAWSUIT OVER MIGRANT CHILDREN IN PRISON:
At the time of the ACLU's initial court filings, child detainees had to wear prison garb. They received one hour of recreation per day and opportunities to spend this hour outdoors were very rare. Children were detained in small cells for about 11 or 12 hours each day, and were prohibited from keeping food and toys in these cells, which lack any privacy.
Migrant Detention Center on Tohono O'odham tribal land in Arizona
by Brenda Norrell
SAN MIGUEL, Ariz. --This migrant detention center on Tohono O'odham tri
bal land, near the border in Arizona, is opposed by Tohono O'odham who say it is a violation of the Him'dag, the sacred way of being. It is one of two migrant detention centers on tribal land, approved by the tribal government, which works with Homeland Security. (Migrants are transported by Wackenhut, notorious for human rights violations. Wackenhut is now apart of Geo Group.)
O'odham people opposing the militarization of their land say the abuses by the border agents are ignored, while migrants are subjected to inhumane treatment.
O'odham are harassed and spied on, while migrants' rapes and beatings by border agents often go unreported. (Photo Ofelia Rivas.)
AMNESTY: Migrant and refugee children in Hutto prison
Amnesty International USA's REFUGEE ACTION
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Ste. 500Washington, DC 20003T. 202.544.0200F.202.546.7142E-mail. refugee@aiusa.org
June 18, 2007
UNITED STATES: Oppose the Detention of Refugee and Migrant Children
SUMMARY: Amnesty International is concerned about hundreds of migrant children and their parents who are detained at the Don T. Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. The Hutto building used to hold criminals before being converted to a temporary residence for refugee and migrant children. Children from Central America and other parts of the world including Greece, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Russia and Romania are detained at Hutto in prison cells for months at a time.BACKGROUND: Every day, the United States government detains over 600 migrant children and their parents who are asking permission to remain here legally. Some families flee violence and war in their home countries and come to the United States hoping to be protected by our government. Others come because they want to have a better life than they left behind. When immigration officers find families who don't have permission to stay, they can lock them in facilities like Hutto until they decide whether to allow the families to remain in the U.S. Sometimes this process can take years.
The detention of families expanded dramatically in 2006 with the opening of the new 512-bed T. Don Hutto Residential Center. Prior to the opening of Hutto, the majority of immigrant families were arrested and then released from custody while they worked through their immigration cases. Hutto is a former criminal facility that houses immigrant children in prison cells. Some families with children have been detained in the facility for up to two years. The majority of children in the facility appear to be under 12 years old.
According to international standards to which the United States has agreed, asylum seekers, in particular, are not to be detained unless warranted by special circumstances. Migrants in detention are to be afforded the same rights as nationals who are detained, and even in detention, children have the right to be with their families, to get an education, to have recreational time, and to live in a place that is safe.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please contact the Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, asking the government to stop holding migrant children and their parents in prison-like facilities. You can also copy your letter to the head of Hutto, and the Juvenile Coordinator for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Special thanks to Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr. for the Texas photos.
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