T. Don Hutto Residential Center

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The T. Don Hutto Residential Center is an immigrant detention facility in Taylor, Texas, operated by the Corrections Corporation of America.^[1] under a contract by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A former medium-security state prison, it and a smaller center in Leesport, Pennsylvania are the only two facilities in the United States authorized to hold non-Mexican immigrant families and children on noncriminal charges. Its purpose is to hold immigrant families together while they await the outcome of their immigration hearings or their return to their home countries.^[2] It began operating in the summer of 2006. Previously, illegal immigrants with children would be released with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. While it has 512 total beds in the facility, it currently houses approximately 300 individuals, about half of which are children. The detainees are a diverse group, including families of all sorts and of all ages.

Most of the residents are from Central and South America. However, there is a representative sample of Africans, Asians, Europeans, and Middle Easterners. Some of the families held at the Hutto facility are awaiting adjudication of their claims for relief or asylum. Many of these families have been granted bond and are awaiting payment so that they can be released. The facility is also a staging area for families waiting to be deported to their home countries. None of the families held at the former prison are charged with offenses other than illegal entry.

Since the Hutto facility is privately run, it has been difficult for members of the general public to gather information. Friends, family members, and lawyers of detainees, on the other hand, are granted private visitation 7 days a week with no limit on the number of visits. Human rights groups are also a common sight at the facility. Catholic Charities and Political Asylum Project of Austin conduct bi-weekly presentations for detainees regarding their legal rights and offering legal assistance. Also in the month of March and April 2008, American Civil Liberties Union as well as members of the League of United Latin American Citizens were granted extensive tours of the facility. Community volunteers from area places of worship visit weekly to conduct multiple religious services for detainees.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against ICE in March 2007 on behalf of 10 juvenile plaintiffs that were housed in the facility at the time claiming that the standards by which they were housed was not in compliance with the government's detention standards for this population. The claims were, amongst other things, improper educational opportunities, not enough privacy, and substandard health care. The relief being sought was the release of the plaintiffs. In August 2007, after the plaintiffs were no longer housed at the facility, the ACLU settled the lawsuit claiming that the situations at the facility had "significantly improved".^[3]