02.21.07

Report Finds “Prison-Like Conditions” At T. Don Hutto - UPDATED

Posted in T. Don Hutto at 9:25 pm by wcnews

Juan Castillo of the AAS has the story, Report recommends closing immigrant detention center.

The government should shut down an immigrant detention center in Taylor and stop detaining families and asylum seekers in prisonlike facilities while they are in immigration proceedings, a new report recommends.

[…]

It recommends parole release for more families, especially asylum seekers who can establish identity and demonstrate a credible fear of persecution or violence in their homeland.

It acknowledges that some families may not be eligible for release on parole or bond but recommends confinement as a last alternative and then in “nonpenal, homelike facilities.”

[…]

The delegation said it found that families, many with young children, were detained for days, months and sometimes years under harsh conditions, including separation of children as young as 6 from their parents and inadequate care for pregnant women.

“Every woman we spoke to in person on a one-on-one basis broke down in tears, and the children were also clearly affected by this,” Brané said.

The report by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children entitled Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families will be released tomorrow.

“At Hutto we found prison-like conditions imposed on families with no criminal background, including asylum seekers,” said Michelle Brané, co-author of the groundbreaking report. “Conditions at Berks were less punitive, but many improvements must be made to better meet the basic needs of families, particularly children.”

I will link to report when it becomes available tomorrow.

[UPDATE]: Here’s the link to the press release and the report itself, Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families (.PDF).

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