Monday, November 26, 2007

Detention Centers Employed Illegal Immigrants

The Houston Chronicle is reporting:


The dirty little secret is out: The T. Don Hutto Family Residential Center, a detention facility for immigrant families in Taylor, has employed undocumented workers, as well as contractors with criminal records. The revelation has put Williamson Coun­ty, which administers the center for owner-operator Correc­tions Corporation of America, in an embarrassing legal bind.

The infractions, ironic as they are, were cited in an official reprimand of CCA by the U.S. Immigration and Cus­toms Enforcement and addressed to County Judge Dan Gattis on May 23. The reprimand only came to light in October, when WilCo commissioners began airing concerns about mounting liability. But it was an alleged sexual assault of a detainee by a guard on May 19 that was the most likely source of the county's jitters over liability. WilCo and CCA were to "ensure that such an incident not occur again," the reprimand stated.


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As I continue to report, the families being detained at these heinous Crony-Owned Detention Center are subject to deplorable abuse, all while the Cronies receive payment from our own Government on a "per head, per day" basis! Now we find they not only contract criminals, they also contract illegal immigrants!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Post the information on how it became known that these specific employees were "Illegal Immigrants", and the others known criminals.

Anonymous said...

Throw the detention center operators who knowingly employed illegal immigrants in jail, over and out.

Dee said...

Here is what the article said liquid:
According to a far-reaching report – "Locking Up Family Val­ues: The Detention of Immigrant Families" – published by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Hutto staff and providers may have crossed the line numerous times. In an interview, the report's author, Michelle BranĂ©, said the report addresses only the more serious documented incidents. In the medical wing, for example, pregnant detainees were X-rayed with no lead screen; detainees received dental work without anesthesia; pregnant women were not allowed milk and were shackled when taken outside the facility for checkups. Additionally, the report reveals that overheated water scalded children at times. To punish children deemed unruly, guards "would turn up the air conditioning so that the room became very cold" and would turn off hot water for bathing, the report states. But the worst offense was that so-called errant parents and their children lived under the threat of being separated

Dee said...

Looks like they CONVENIENTLY Lost the Case File:
Concerning the alleged sexual assault of a detainee, the question remains: Why was the guard not arrested or prosecuted? No one at the Oct. 9 commissioners' meeting seemed to know or care. CCA Senior Vice President Damon Hininger said the county was investigating the case, but Sheriff James Wilson said he didn't know the whereabouts of the case file and that District Attorney John Bradley had decided to forgo prosecution.

Dee said...

more

a climate of fear existed at Hutto, with alliances between detainees and guards forged for "protection." "I interpreted 'alliances' to mean 'favors,'" Brané said. That, coupled with the threat of separation from family members, could have contributed to a milieu of extortion, even retribution. ICE, too, grew concerned about detainee safety, noting in its reprimand, "Sub-contractors were found to have criminal histories that were not conducive to the family residential environment of the facility and those workers were denied access."

Anonymous said...

It appears that all charges are "alleged". I wouldn't pass judgement until any of these charges are proven. As far as employing illegal aliens, many companies contract their labor through a business and it is assumed that the business only hires legal workers. Therefore Hutto wouldn't be held accountable but the business who supplied the workers.

I see no reason to shut the detention center down. Just clean house if any of the charges prove factual and get things back on track again.

ultima said...

I agree that abuses must be fully investigated and eliminated. We know that in facilities like this there are alway some bad apples and always some quid pro quo favors.

Actually I like the idea of using the illegals in some capacity to reduce costs if they are already in detention.

I don't understand why the process of apprehension, detention and deportation cannot be expedited. I should think if any detainees find the conditions there "horrendous, deplorable, or heinous" they could easily obtain the release of their families by simply agreeing in writing to immediate involuntary deportation.

We need more immigration judges in these detention facilities and rigid criteria for any appeals. That is the best solution. Let's pay the company on a head count of only those who have actually been deported involuntarily. The profit motive would then give the companies a reason to do everything they can to expedite the removal of illegal from this country once they have been detained. I do not believe in extended detentions. Justice delayed is justice denied. Our main concern should be that the punishment should fit the crime, nothing more nothing less. To me this means quick immigration decisions and quick deportation.

Anonymous said...

I agree, deport, do not detain.

Dee said...

Ultima,
These Detention Centers are for OTMs. The whole process for deporation is "screwed up."

1. Whole Families imprisoned
2. Court Date: Stay in Detention Center until court date, which may take months.
3. Mass Deportations: The detainees are held after their court date until sufficient numbers from their country are processed to have a bulk export of people to that country. I hear this part may take months or years.
4. Private Prisons: The crony owners of these prisons are paid on a per head, per day basis. I suspect part of the reason this whole process is this bad is because of the profits made by the private prison owners.

What is clear is the whole process has to be overhauled especially IF - BEFORE the SAVE Act is passed. If it is this bad now, what will it be like when massive sweeps occur across the country as per the SAVE Act.

Maybe that is the reason the bill has sections detailing additional Detention Center. Can you imagine the additionalproblems, backlog and abusive if this happens?

Anonymous said...

If law enforcement passed the buck on the alleged assault, ICE is currently assuming no blame for the 10 undocumented workers the agency arrested and deported. Nor is CCA at fault, according to Rusnok. "It is the responsibility of the provider of services [not CCA] including subcontractors to ensure the workers they provide have legal status," he said. Could it be that there's only one culprit left in the equation – the county?


Show something more incriminating in regards to the Hutto center, Dee. Like Pat says, 'alleged' allegations. Also, the sub-contractor was the supplier of , according to your article, 10 'Illegal Immigrants' working at site. Now if they provided the proper documentation, i.e. SS card Drivers License/ID Card, and they looked to be good documents, how then can you blame the sub-contractor. Like you have stated in the past, we can not tell the 'Illegals' from Citizens if they provide to be what appears to be legal documentation.

This should be enough reason to allow the no match letters to go out, and the requirement for employers to check through the government on line program.

Dee said...

Liquid, This is not my article.
This is the Houston Chronicle.

You know what? The sweeps pick up people. No ID, off to detention center you go. No proof. Nothing is needed. It is the opposite of "innocent until proven guilty" and from what I hear, Citizens get caught up in the mess.

The process is totally broken and no one cares. The major papers did not pick this up. These articles are posted every week in the TX newspapers. Demonstrators demonstate every day. The abuses are well documented but no one, no one wants to listen.

Answer this question, Do you believe OJ was guilty? Michael Jackson? Why do you have any doubt about what happened in Hutto given all the evidence as stated in the unbias news article and by many 1st hand witnesses.

Anonymous said...

I know its not your article Dee. The author is at the top of it.

As for OJ and Michael, as I was not a juror and do not know what evidence was provided, how then can I assume that either is guilty?? The press was not allowed all of the evidence, they only played on the emotions of people, just as they are doing here.

The detainees are the ones talking about abuses along with sympathizers (people that don't like the facility).

The process is not broken, it still has kinks, those can be worked out. No citizen has been taken to Hutto or any other detention center.

I have doubt do to the fact that the ones that are complaining are the detainees themselves, and those who sympathize with them. Until there is actual proof (clear evidence), then how can anybody pass judgment??

I believe all accusations should be properly investigated, and of those are found guilty should be penalized and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Dee said...

Liquid,
You know I like you and discussing with you, but clearly, you can see, by the amount of feedback, by the amount of protests, by my cousin who is a first hand witness, there are extreme abuses in the Detention Centers.

We know, by unbiased reports, these private prisons are owned by friends of the RNC. They are profiting. They are paid per head per day. We know this.

There are abuses.

The process needs to be changed.

Please, please support the need for change.

Anonymous said...

All hearsay by the detainess and their sympathizers who are biased, including your cousin. No solid proof!

So what that Hutto is getting paid per head? They are a for profit business, duh!

If the detainees are being kept there too long it is the fault of our government for allowing this, not Hutto. Complain to the government then.

Families are being detained together to keep them together. That is actually quite humane, rather than seperating kids from their parents.

Massive sweeps across the country by the SAVE ACT? I thought it was about enforcement in the work place. What is wrong with that? Everyone will be checked including white people for the right to work in this country.

Dee said...

Poor Pat,
You continue to stay in denial.

Also, per my cousin, the Chinese detainees swept to the Detention Centers always have $3000 in their pockets at all times.

Why?
Because that is the cost of the bail.
These folks bail themselves out and never return.

Anonymous said...

Poor dee, I won't deny or acknowledge anything until it is proven. You are in continued acknowledgement without proof.

As far as your Chinese story, take it up with our government then if you think it is true and it upsets you.

Bob said...

Illegal aliens should be severly punished before being deported. Just being deported only is a small inconvenience since the border is so open. A year of hard labor on a chain gang before being deported would be more of a deterent to jumping the border again tomorrow.

[I used to own apartmetns in a city where it was illegal to refuse illegals. Some of them would go back to Mexico for Christmas vacation, no problem bro.]

Unknown said...

I am the reporter who wrote this article for the Austin Chronicle; it was misidentified as appearing in the Houston Chronicle.

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