I am aware that you have toured the facility in Williamson County
currently being used to jail immigrants in federal custody awaiting asylum
in this country. I am also aware that you have determined that this
facility, a former prison, does not violate the provisions outlined in Flores v. Meese. I am
shocked by your judgement in this matter. Flores v. Meese stipulates, among other things, than children cannot be housed in prisons. How is the T. Don Hutto facility not a prison? Child detainees wear prison garb
and are not allowed to wear their own clothes. Children are detained in
small cells for roughly 12 hrs a day. They are forbidden from keeping toys
in these cells. They are given one hour of recreation per day and more
often than not they are not allowed to spend it outside. They are lined up and counted three times a day.
These children have inadequate access to medical, dental, and educational opportunities.
Guards frequently use the threat of separating children from their families as punishment.
The ACLU has recently filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland
Security on behalf of many of the detainees. I ask that you reconsider
your stand on this issue and push forward a Congressional investigation
into this shameful situation occurring in our own backyard. No one is
questioning the right of the Federal Government to pursue its law
enforcement goals in relation to immigration. I simply ask that it is
pursued in a reasonable and humane manner, especially in regard to the
children.
5 comments:
Hey ! You forgot they don't have digital cable television! This is a travesty. You are an idiot. We spend almost $6,000 per month per person at that particular facility. These are people that ILLEGALLY entered our country (with their children), were caught by our hardworking law enforcement officials and are now choosing to seek asylum. They get fed and housed (in better conditions from which they came) until their case is processed. $6,000 per month is well beyond what they deserve and what taxpayers should spend. The reason they are detained is previous laws required enforcement agents to release anybody ILLEGALLY entering our country if they were accompanied with their minor children. So guess what happens? You guessed it. All the smugglers start bringing children with them so they are guaranteed release and can continue to ILLEGALLY enter our country. If you want to talk about inhumane treatment why don't you take a look where these people come from and the governments that drive them to such desperation. Our government treats these people like royalty when compared to their homeland government. Or the people that endanger their children by putting them in this situation in the first place. No, it's always America's fault. We need to take responsibility for everybody. And I expect you to say "Hey, these people are coming here to do jobs Americans will not do". No, they come here, take jobs for pennies on the dollar with no benefits and drive down the cost of labor and standards of labor so average Americans can't sustain themselves with these same jobs and are forced to pursue other avenues of employment. We should start a voluntary program where American citizens take in ILLEGAL entrants into our country and take care of these families. Since you are such a humanitarian I'm sure you will be the first to sign up.
You completely missed the point of my argument as well as the point of the ACLU lawsuit that has been filed against the DHS and ICE. It is clear that you really don't know anything about the facility in Taylor and have instead chosen to offer an opinion on immigration that has no bearing on this discussion. No one is questioning the ability of ICE to hold immigrants in custody while they await a hearing on their immigration status. The question is only how ICE treats the children caught up in this ugly mess. Even if smugglers begin bringing children with them, that is no excuse for the children to be treated like criminals. It should not be enough that we treat them better than the way they were treated in their home country - obviously they were treated poorly there or they would not have left. We should strive to treat them with the dignity and respect all human beings deserve. This standard should be applied to anyone in our custody, but it is even more important when dealing with the most innocent among us: the children. We are the world's greatest power and with that comes a great responsibility. We are a nation founded on the ideal of being an example - a city on the hill. Voices like yours explain how far we have drifted from that ideal.
It seems you are the one completely missing the point. Like I said, these people ILLEGALLY entered this country with minor children and were caught. Ask yourself this question. What happens in this country when YOU break the law? Are you afforded all the privileges of these people? No, you are removed from your wife and children and jailed with a bunch of criminals until your trial is complete. What happens with these people that violate our laws? I can assure you they are treated much better than our own citizens of this country. It is a shame these people have put their children in this situation but considering the circumstances they are receiving more than fair treatment. We do not owe them anything. The fact they are even allowed a trial is more than generous. And while they wait for this trial they are clothed, fed and housed in a clean environment (which is nicer than anything they have ever lived in their lives). They are not beaten, tortured, starved or deprived of any of the basic needs to survive. Yes, it may not be comfortable at all times, the food may not be very good and they may lack privacy and other luxuries but this is not Club Med. So in conclusion, I again say these children are not abused or mistreated. They may not have millions of toys like your children, have the best health and dental care like your children and have access to the same education as your children but they are treated humanely. This is a temporary facility to hold people awaiting trial who broke the laws of this country. I could take an educated guess and assume your children can spare some of their toys and luxuries. If you are so concerned about the comfort of these people why don't you relieve some of your guilt by donating your time, money and goods for these people. Or does complaining simply ease your guilt? And by the way, I live in Hutto, have been to this facility and have a relative that works there. So while you think you know everything and have superior knowledge to all on this subject I personally know more about this subject than you. I'm sure you went to the ACLU website read a couple articles and are now an expert on the subject.
Actually, I would say that I completely recognized your point, I just don't see what it has to do with the concerns I raised. However, if you believe that keeping children locked in cells and dressed in prison jumpers is acceptable behavior then it is clear that we just differ on what is acceptable, moral, and decent. The fact that you have a relative employed by this facilty only weakens your position since the source of your information clearly has a personal financial stake in the argument. My information is not based on the biased judgement of someone who depends on the existence of this place to feed their children, nor is it based soley on the ACLU website or press conference I attended, but was instead formed from first hand information culled by co-workers impartially sent to investigate the facilities.
By the way - did you catch the photo in the Austin American Statesman today? The one of the cell?
Nice.
By the way - thanks for reading the blog and offerring an opinion - even if I don't agree with it. Cheers.
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