A look at the US prison where Canadian boy and his family are incarcerated

The 9-year-old Canadian boy is kept in a cell like the one shown in the photo below, at the T. Don Hutto Center which is anything but ‘residential’. It is a prison owned and operated by a private contractor hired by the US DHS. Razor wire surrounds the compound. None of detainees have committed a crime. This Canadian boy and his family did not either. They were passengers on a direct flight from Guyana to Toronto that had to make an emergency landing in the US colony of Puerto Rico. Instead of allowing them to re-embark the plane with the other passengers, US shipped them back to the ‘mainland’, to the Hutto prison.

They became the latest victims of the ‘system’.

Almost a month later, Canadian consular officials have done nothing about returning the family to Canada, even though the child was born in Canada, having lived and attended school in Toronto for most of his young life .

I guess we haven’t learned from Canadian citizen Maher Arar’s ordeal, have we?

I am posting this so that everyone can see what is happening to young Kevin, a Canadian citizen (his citizenship has been fully established by the authorities).

I hope that after viewing the video and pictures — and reading more about T. Don Hutto –at least some of you will feel compelled to contact Canadian consular officials and our Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay — and anyone else you think can help bring the family back to Canada. You will find their contact information after the short articles .

This photo is from the Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=T.Don+Hutto&target=blendedsearch&first-page-size=5

PHOTOS

1 photo found on search for: T.Don Hutto

DHS’s answer to families in limbo A cell that houses an immigrant family is shown at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. The detention facility house immigrant families awaiting deportation.

When you click on the headline, it shows you the enlarged picture of the same cell. That’s the open toilet little Kevin keeps referring to and how sleeping so close to it is making his asthma worse. Do you see the crib in there? They also keep babies in those cells. Tragic.

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Report damns

immigrant detention center

 

Brett Shipp reports

08:36 AM CST on Monday, February 12, 2007

By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TV

 

AP

A barred window is seen inside the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas.

TAYLOR – Immigration officials are staunchly defending their operation of a detention center for families near Austin.

The Hutto Residential Center is the subject of growing outrage by critics who say it’s nothing but a prison for children.

I was one of the first reporters allowed inside.

The Department of Homeland Security invited us to look beyond the protesters, the razor wire and prison bars to see the other side of the controversy – the detention of immigrant families at this modified state prison in Taylor, Texas.

Since last May, an estimated 400 detainees, most of them children, await deportation, sometimes for months.

“We can either split them up or let them stay together in a safe and humane place, the best way to detain families,” said Gary Mead, assistant director for the detention and removal operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Up to 20 families live in each dormitory pod. They wear uniform scrubs and sleep in six by eight foot cells which feature bunk beds, a sink and a toilet.

How has this been modified since it was a prison cell?

“The paint is different, the rails are different, the carpet is different,” said Mead.

Out in the commons area, children can play with the modest collection of toys – they can lounge, watch movies or play video games.

They have Daring Dance Grooves, Tae Boxing, an assortment of play station games and Finding Nemo.

Officials say the children are given four hours of education a day, one hour of recreation and have access to a playground and soccer fields.

But even outside in the fresh air there is no mistaking the signs they are above all else, detainees.

What is the need for the concertina wire just beyond the playground?

“Good question, one of the things we pride ourselves on is that this is a work in progress,” said Mead.

The razor wire, he says, is coming down soon.

Mead also says he prides himself on the quality of the food, medical and dental care.

He says additional classrooms are on the way.

But he adds this is not a home for the detainees, nor should the public mistake it for one.

“One of the messages – we will remove you,” said Mead.

And from The Dallas News:

An inside look at where families are held
It looks like a maximum-security day care. Razor wire, strung high atop security fences, surrounds a “Backyard Adventures” swing set. Fake trees soften entrances to sunless cellblocks. And Sony PlayStations entertain immigrant children where Texas criminals once served hard time.But human rights observers and civil rights advocates have condemned the decision to keep children in the Hutto center, citing abuses that include inadequate education, weight loss and psychological trauma. The government, they say, has a responsibility to find less-restrictive environments when the incarceration of minors is necessary.

And the LA Times:

Immigration’s net binds children too
Khadijah Bessuges is confined by metal gates and razor wire. She wears a uniform. She sleeps in an 8-by-15 cell, and stands by her cot four times a day when the guards count heads. She has only two pairs of panties. Her favorite teddy bear was confiscated. But she has her father, Sebastien, who sleeps in the cell with her.
Khadijah is 9 years old.

And:

“Children being in jail with their parents is what is morally and ethically wrong with this picture,” said attorney Frances Valdez of the University of Texas Immigration Law Clinic, who has clients at Hutto.

A former prison northeast of Austin, Hutto is run by a for-profit company with a controversial record. And though the facility is meant for detention measured in days, many immigrants are detained for months.

The average stay is about 55 days for asylum seekers, 40 for others, officials said.

The longest any family has stayed is 205 days. At Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s other family facility, in Pennsylvania, the average stay is 59 days, activists say.

Can you imagine your child or grandchild living inside these places for that long?

Here is a link with video of this horrid place:

Media Allowed To Tour Controversial Detention Center

The media was invited to tour the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, at 1001 Welch St. In Taylor. The center is being investigated by the American Civil Liberties Union for alleged human rights violations.What the media saw was exactly what the government wanted them to see, and nothing else. The tour was very controlled and lasted just over an hour.

I am listing the address and phone numbers for the Canadian Embassy in Washington and Dallas, Texas:

Embassy of Canada
Address: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, U.S.A.
Tel.: (202) 682-1740
Emergency toll-free to Ottawa: 1-888-949-9993
Fax: (202) 682-7738
E-Mail: wshdc-outpack@international.gc.ca

Canadian Consulate General – Dallas
St Paul Place
750 North St Paul Street, Suite 1700
Dallas, Texas
USA
75201
Tel: 1 (214) 922-9806
Fax: 1 (214) 922-9815

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Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay’s contact information:

New Glasgow
980 East River Road
New Glasgow, NS
B2H 3S8
(T) 902-752-0226
(F) 902-752-0284
Email

Antigonish
219 Main Street
Suite 303
Antigonish, NS
B2G 2C1
(T) 902-863-7005
(F) 902-863-7006
Email

Sheet Harbour
22756 Highway 7
Sheet Harbour, NS
B0J 3B0
(T) 902-885-3490
(F) 902-654-2059
Email