06.22.07
Vigil X, T. Don Hutto
Event Details What: Solidarity rally in honor of World Refugee Day Where: T. Don Hutto detention facility, 1001 Welch St., Taylor, Texas When: Saturday, June 23, 2007, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Central time
Amnesty International released this statement ahead of tomorrow’s rally:
“The T. Don Hutto detention facility is a former prison for hardened criminals, now run by a for-profit corporation to detain child asylum seekers, migrants and their families. On any given day, Hutto holds up to 400 of these vulnerable individuals, as young as five months, who are looking to the United States for asylum or other protection from the full, awful range of human rights violations abroad.
“Kids seeking asylum have fundamental human rights — rights that Hutto violates. Detaining them at all, let alone for prolonged periods, contravenes U.S. and international standards. At Hutto, children live surrounded by security fences topped by razor wire. Until recently, they had to wear prison jumpsuits and got only one hour of school a day, despite the requirements of Texas state law. Defenders of the facility claim that it’s designed solely to keep track of asylum-seekers and migrants — but prison is an unacceptable way of monitoring the location of kids seeking protection.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) family detention system is flawed, inconsistent, and in violation of national and international standards. The U.S. government should make radical changes at Hutto and other family detention facilities. The rights of children simply must come first.
“Amnesty International urges DHS not to detain children. If there is ever justification to detain a child, it should be for the shortest time possible and in the least restrictive setting possible, in a facility that is appropriate to the child’s needs and complies with both international and domestic standards. DHS must stop placing enforcement above children’s best interests.”
Williamson County gets $1/inmate/day. Shameful.