Author: mopress

We have previously shared a pdf file released by writer Dave Maass–including an April letter from the state of Texas informing the Corrections Corporation of America that it will continue to be exempt from child protection regulations. In the May 22 edition of the San Antonio Current, Maass coins a term for Hutto “Kidmo” and summarizes his research into licensing:

ICE assigned the licensing responsibilities to CCA, the U.S.’s largest private prison operator. CCA’s inexperience in residential programs is evident in documents obtained by the Current that show in March 2006 CCA was hoping to receive licensing from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission. Both agencies determined that Hutto was outside their jurisdiction because the detained juveniles had not committed criminal offenses and were foreign nationals. Only as the facility was set to open in May 2006 did CCA finally file paperwork with the proper agency, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. However, instead of applying for a license, CCA requested and received a licensing exemption, which Sparks pointed out does not satisfy Flores.

Email from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition

Dear friends,

We have breaking news and we need your help more than ever!

Many of you have seen the historical bipartisan work of key members of the legislature to pass “smart on crime” policies.

We’ve just received a call from a very reliable source warning us that within the next couple of days (and most likely on Sunday), the House will be voting on the budget, which will decide which road Texas will take – the road that will save the State millions of dollars, strengthen families, and increase public safety, or the road that will waste funding we don’t have on new prison construction, which weakens communities and turns a blind eye to strategies that will make Texas safer.

We urge each and every one of you call your State Representatives and urge them to join Rep. Jerry Madden, Rep. Sylvester Turner, and others, and remove the primary rider regarding prison construction.

Although the budget will not be available until some time later tonight or tomorrow (Fri), we have heard that the rider is in Article IX, and that it appropriates funds contingent upon passage of SJR 65 (which approves $1 billion for general revenue bonds to be used for various items, including prison construction) and S.B. 2033 (which allows the spending of those funds).

We also urge you to let your Representatives know that they must oppose ANY other provision that might show up in the budget and waste taxpayer dollars by building prisons.

Your work has gotten us so too far to let failed policies waste your hard earned money now. Help us make the state safer and smart on crime.

Find out the contact information of your elected official by logging onto the following website:

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/welcome.php

Your friends at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro

Afternoon Freedom Ambassadors…

When Hutto Vigil IX was announced…for June 23rd…

…another group headed up by Antonio Diaz of the Texas Indigenous Council was in the planning stages of a June 9th vigil at Hutto. While this was not done to confuse anyone…there seems to be a little confusion. Let’s try to clarify it this way.

Hutto Vigil IX. This is a Hutto Vigil. It is headed up by Antonio Diaz and his group. We will therefore identify it as Hutto Vigil IX. It will be held on June 9th. We applaud the initiative and encourage all who can to support it. We encourage you to call Antonio to get the specifics. For info call (210)396=9805. E-mail: texasindigenouscouncil@yahoo.com.

Hutto Vigil X. This is the vigil sponsored by Amnesty International. Many organizations have committed to support that vigil, including LULAC. This vigil will be held on June 23rd. Amnesty International will make the public announcement with the exact details at a future date. The Hutto Vigil X date of June 23rd was selected because it falls on the weekend of the International Day of the Refugee. Folks will be coming from around the country to attend Hutto Vigil X.

Here’s a brief yet special update from Freedom Ambassadors…Gloria Benacci and two daughters…who came up with the coveted “No Child Left Behind Bars” buttons. Gloria says:

“We have T-shirts…logo, white with black/red printing front and back…Spanish and English. (see attached) Only need a better estimate on how many we need. The T-shirts are high quality and our printer does an incredible job.”

These T-shirts will be available for a suggested donation. For more information on the buttons and T-shirts…we invite y’all to visit Free the Children at MySpace where we are approaching 2000 friends…and according to Gloria…going on 10,000.

Regarding the Hutto vigils…we cannot have too many. If anything…we should try to have more. We should all try to muster up all of the expressed outrage that we can…against the imprisonment of innocent little children…and those who would profit off of them.

Hutto is like an ugly boil that has come to the head. It is so in your face. It violates everything we believe as a people. Unless we put a stop to this kind of abuse of democracy…such atrocities will go from ugly to uglier. Why do we say that? In May of last year…for the Hutto dedication…the proud architect of imprisoning innocent children…Chertoff, himself…bragged about Hutto being the prototype for future prison camps for families.

We the people happen to disagree with this demented concept and we are letting Chertoff, Bush, Congress, the U.N….and the world community know…that in no uncertain terms…we will not tolerate such conduct that defies all universal laws. Americans with a conscience will keep growing in numbers and massing together…to free the innocent children of the world. Taking down their prize razor wire, after months of protest, does not change the fact that the tender lives of little ones are being abused by the world’s biggest bullies.

In solidarity…we come to their rescue. We come to demand their freedom…and the freedom of their mothers. We come to defend our family and our race. The human family and the human race.

No Child Left Behind Bars

Free the Children

Jay

“If you make peaceful change impossible….. you make violent revolution inevitable.” President John F Kennedy

KXAN learned Wednesday the alleged misconduct that resulted in the firing of a guard at the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor was sexual in nature.

The center is one of only two in the country that detains children and families for non-criminal immigration violations.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, officials gave the media a look inside earlier this year, but this week Williamson County investigators took a closer look.

In a statement issued Wednesday the sheriff’s office confirmed they investigated a report of officer misconduct, and it was sexual in nature.

It went on to say their findings would be turned over to federal investigators, because the misconduct did not fall under local or state statute.

“Technically, you’re not looking at people who are convicted of crimes, and this isn’t an entity that’s subject to the sort of state and municipal control as other detention facilities should be,” said attorney Wayne Krause of the Texas Civil Rights Project. . . .