Category: Uncategorized

So says Glenda in the Land of Oz, a blogging graphic artist and social worker from Austin. In a May 19 entry, she speaks about a friend who works at Hutto:

“He described the incoming immigrant families holding screaming children in their arms. He described the guards taking their fingerprints, taking the fingerprints of the babies.

“He said it was disturbing to the most hardened prison workers to see poor families being held like prisoners, the children behind bars, crying, all of them crying.
He said they were all poor and frightened. He has been around criminals for many years. These are not criminals. They are poor and desperate.

“What I heard disturbed me too. I don’t know what else to say. The internal picture of fingerprinting babies offends me.” Here’s the link

CCA Facilities Locations

“Only the second detention facility in the nation designed to house families, the center is part of a new push by U.S. immigration authorities to detain rather than release illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
“The location is owned and run by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America, which, like other private prison operators, is bracing for an increase in business from measures to curb illegal immigration. The Hutto Center opened last week under a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, reversing last year’s decision by CCA to shut down the then-underutilized prison.

“We do expect there’ll be an increased need for detention beds,” said John Ferguson, chief executive with CCA, citing the spotlight on immigration including legislation being discussed in Congress.”
Prison operator competes for federal contracts to house detainees”

–By GETAHN WARD, Sunday, 05/21/06
archived at The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

CCA was founded in 1983 by Nashville businessmen Thomas Beasley and Doctor Crants along with Don Hutto, who was then the president-elect of the American Correctional Association. In 1983, CCA was awarded the first private design, build and manage contract from the Immigration and Naturalization Service for 330 detainees in Houston, and the Houston Processing Center opened in early 1984.
–PR Newswire archive at ZoomInfo

Closure of T. Don Hutto Correctional Center

In a separate announcement, CCA has indicated its intent to cease operations at the CCA-owned and operated T. Don Hutto Correctional Center located in Taylor, Texas on May 14, 2004, due to low inmate population demands in the facility’s region. CCA expects to be able to transfer the majority of the approximate 60 federal offenders currently housed in the 480-bed facility to other CCA-operated facilities.

CCA does not expect the closing of this facility to have a material impact on its previously announced 2004 earnings per share guidance.
–from CCA news release, March 23, 2004

Corrections Corporation of America Announces Agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for CCA Texas Facility

December 2, 2005

Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest provider of corrections management services to government agencies, announced today that it has reached an agreement with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to manage up to 600 detainees at CCA’s T. Don Hutto Correctional Center in Taylor, Texas.

CCA management expects to begin accepting ICE detainees on February 1, 2006. Although the contract does not provide for a guaranteed occupancy, the Company expects the facility to be substantially occupied before the end of the second quarter of 2006. The Company intends to provide guidance for 2006 in its fourth quarter earnings release and conference call expected to occur in February 2006.

“Over the past several months, the Bush Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly voiced their intention to increase efforts of enforcing the United States border through their Secure Border Initiative. The Secure Border Initiative is a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America’s borders and reduce illegal immigration. We believe this contract represents an important step in this ongoing initiative being undertaken by ICE,” stated John Ferguson, president and chief executive officer.

Ferguson continued, “CCA is gratified by the continued confidence that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed in its partnership with us. We remain prepared to accommodate the future needs of this long-standing CCA customer.”

1997 lease agreement for the Hutto detention center, posted as a “sample contract” at a continuing legal education website:
http://contracts.onecle.com/corrections/taylor.lease.1997.07.18.shtml

                                 LEASE AGREEMENT
                                    (TAYLOR)

         THIS LEASE AGREEMENT ("Lease") dated as of the 18th day of July, 1997,
by and between CCA PRISON REALTY TRUST, a Maryland real estate investment trust
("Landlord") and CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA, a Tennessee corporation
("Tenant").

                                    RECITALS

         WHEREAS, Tenant (or one of Tenant's affiliates) has concurrently
conveyed to Landlord the property described in Exhibit A hereto, and Landlord
and Tenant desire that Landlord lease such property back to Tenant; and

         WHEREAS, Landlord and Tenant have entered into a Master Agreement to
Lease of even date herewith (the "Master Agreement") which sets forth certain
agreements of the parties with respect to the lease of various properties
including the property that is the subject of this Lease;

         NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of their
respective agreements and undertakings herein, Landlord and Tenant agree as
follows:

                                    ARTICLE I
                                PREMISES AND TERM

         1.1 Leased Property.  Landlord hereby leases to Tenant and Tenant 
leases from Landlord the Land located in the City of Taylor, Williamson County,
State of Texas, described in Exhibit A hereto, and all Improvements, Fixtures,
and Personal Property thereon or thereto (each as defined in the Master
Agreement, and, together with said Land, the "Leased Property"); such Leased
Property collectively known and described at the date hereof as the T. Don Hutto
Correctional Center;

         SUBJECT, HOWEVER, to the lien of the mortgage debt described in Exhibit
B hereto, if any, and to all easements, liens, encumbrances, restrictions,
agreements, and other title matters existing as of the date hereof and listed in
Exhibit C hereto (collectively the "Permitted Exceptions").

         1.2 Term. The initial term (the "Fixed Term") of the Lease shall be for
a fixed term of twelve (12) years commencing on July 18, 1997 (the "Commencement
Date") and expiring on July 17, 2009 (the "Expiration Date"). The Term of this
Lease may be renewed on the mutual agreement of Landlord and Tenant as follows:
(i) provided that Tenant gives Landlord notice on or before the date which is
six (6) months prior to the Expiration Date, upon the mutual agreement of
Landlord and Tenant, the Lease shall be renewed for one (1) additional five (5)
year term (the "Extended Term") on the same terms and provisions (other than
with respect to renewal) as the Fixed Term, as set forth in the Lease; (ii)
provided that Tenant gives Landlord notice on or before the date which is six
(6) months prior to the expiration of the Extended Term, upon the mutual
agreement of Landlord and Tenant, the Lease shall be renewed for one (1)
additional five (5) year term (the "Second Extended Term") on the same terms and
provisions (other than with respect to renewal) as

             

   2


the Fixed Term, as set forth in the Lease; and (iii) provided that Tenant gives
Landlord notice on or before the date which is six (6) months prior to the
expiration of the Second Extended Term, upon the mutual agreement of Landlord
and Tenant, the Lease shall be renewed for one (1) additional five (5) year term
(the "Third Extended Term") on the same terms and provisions (other than with
respect to renewal) as the Fixed Term, as set forth in the Lease. Tenant's right
to so extend the Term of the Lease is conditioned on Landlord's prior approval
of the Extended Term, Second Extended Term, or Third Extended Term, as the case
may be. The term "Term" used in this Agreement means the Fixed Term, Extended
Term, Second Extended Term and Third Extended Term, as appropriate. The term
"Lease Year" means each twelve (1
2) month period during the Term commencing on
January 1 and ending on December 31, except the first Lease Year of each Lease
shall be the period from the Commencement Date through the following December
31, and the last Lease Year shall end on the date of termination of the Lease if
a day other than December 31. Landlord may terminate this Lease prior to the
expiration of the Term hereof, at any time following the date which is five (5)
years from the date hereof, upon written notice to Tenant not less than eighteen
(18) months prior to the effective date of such termination.

                                   ARTICLE II
                                      RENT

         2.1 Base Rent. Tenant shall pay Landlord Base Rent for the Term in
advance in consecutive monthly installments payable on the first day of each
month during the Term, the Extended Term, Second Extended Term and the Third
Extended Term, commencing on the Commencement Date, in accordance with the Base
Rent Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit D. If the Commencement Date or the
Expiration Date shall be other than on the first day of a calendar month, the
initial (or final, as appropriate) monthly installment of Base Rent payable
pursuant to the Lease shall be prorated for the number of days until, in the
case of the initial monthly installment, the first day of the calendar month
following the Commencement Date and, in the case of the final monthly
installment, the Expiration Date.

         2.2 Additional Rent.  The Base Rent shall be subject to such increases
over the Term as determined pursuant to Section 2.02 of the Master Agreement.

         2.3 Other Additional Rent.  Tenant shall also pay all Other Additional 
Rent with respect to the Leased Property, as set forth in the Master Agreement.

                                   ARTICLE III
                           OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

         3.1 Master Agreement Incorporated Herein. All provisions of the Master
Agreement (except any provisions expressly therein not to be a part of an
individual lease of leased property) are hereby incorporated in and are a part
of this Lease of the Leased Property.

                                        2


   3



         3.2 Recordation. At the request of Landlord or Tenant, a short form
memorandum of this Lease may be recorded in the real estate records of any
county which Landlord or Tenant deems appropriate in order to provide legal
notice of the existence hereof.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Landlord and the Tenant have executed this
Lease or caused the same to be executed by their respective duly authorized
officers as of the date first set forth above.

                                              CCA PRISON REALTY TRUST

                                              By: /s/ Michael W. Devlin
                                                 -------------------------------
                                              Title: Chief Development Officer
                                                    ----------------------------
                                              CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA

                                              By: /s/ Doctor R. Crants
                                                 -------------------------------
                                              Title: Chief Executive Officer
                                                    ----------------------------

                                        3


   4



                                    EXHIBIT A

                      Legal Description of Leased Property

                          Metes and Bounds Description
                                  64.513 Acres
                          Wm. R. Williams Survey, A-665
                          James C. Eaves Survey, A-214
                            Williamson County, Texas

Being a tract containing 64.513 acres of land situated in the Wm. R. Williams 
Survey, Abstract No. 665 and the James C. Eaves Survey, Abstract No. 214 in the
City of Taylor, Williamson County, Texas and being all of a called 64.537 acre
parcel described in deed to Corrections Corporation of America recorded in
Document Number 9639935 of the Official Records Williamson County, Texas
(O.R.W.C.T.). Said 64.513 acre tract being more particularly described by metes
and bounds with all bearings referenced to the aforementioned deed of record:

BEGINNING at a 1/2-inch iron rod found in a south right-of-way line of Welch
Street being the northwest corner of said Tract 1 and the northeast corner of a
called 16.16 acre tract described in deed to Our Lady of Gaudalupe Church
recorded in Volume 1482, page 866 of said O.R.W.C.T.;

THENCE, North 87 degrees 11 minutes 00 seconds East, along said Welch Street
right-of-way line, a distance of 1,623.43 feet to a 1/2-iron rod found in the
west right-of-way line of Park Street (60.00 feet wide) per the plat of Doak's
Addition to the Town of Taylor, a subdivision of record in Volume 56, page 483
of the Williamson County Deed Records (W.C.D.R.) and being the northeast corner
of said Tract 1;

THENCE, South 05 degrees 17 minutes 10 seconds East, departing said Welch Street
and along said Park Street right-of-way line, a distance of 1,708.31 feet to a
1/2-inch iron rod found for the northeast corner of a called 9.0 acre tract
described in deed to Mary Rundell and J. Sorenson recorded in Volume 270, page
54 of the Williamson County Probate Records and being the southeast corner of
said Tract 1;

THENCE, South 85 degrees 12 minutes 10 seconds West (called South 85 degrees 11
minutes 13 seconds West), departing said Park Street and along the north line of
said 9.00 acre tract and along the north line of a called 31.60 acre tract
described as Sixth Tract in deed to Wilhemie Sorenson recorded in Volume 1967,
page 117 of said O.R.W.C.T, a distance of 1,618.76 feet (called 1,618.44 feet)
to a 1/2-inch iron rod found for an interior corner of said 31.60 acre tract and
being the southwest corner of said Tract 1;

THENCE, North 04 degrees 48 minutes 00 seconds West (called North 04 degrees 55
minutes 32 seconds West), along the most northerly easterly line of said 31.60
acre tract, at a distance of 305.77 feet pass a found 3/4-inch iron rod, 0.12
feet left and continuing for a total distance of 355.87 feet




   5



(called 306.32 feet) to a 1/2-inch iron rod found for the most northerly corner
of said 31.60 acre tract and being the southeast corner of the aforementioned
16.16 acre tract;

THENCE, North 05 degrees 32 minutes 24 seconds West (called North 05 degrees 30
minutes 03 seconds West), along the easterly line of said 16.16 acre tract, a
distance of 1,408.61 feet (called 1,458.59 feet) to the POINT OF BEGINNING and
containing a computed area of 64.513 acres of land, more or less.

Prepared by:
SURVCON INC.
400 West 15th, Suite 500
Austin, Texas 78701
Job No. 4775-01
April 1997
Revised: June 1997

                                                T. Don Hutto Correctional Center
                                                Taylor, Williamson County, Texas



   6



                                    EXHIBIT B

                                  Mortgage Debt

                   Property: T. Don Hutto Correctional Center

This property is subject to the following Mortgage Debt:

            That certain deed of trust of First Uni*n National Bank of 
Tennessee, as Administrative Agent, dated July 18, 1997.

                                        6


   7



                                    EXHIBIT C

                              Permitted Exceptions

                   Property: T. Don Hutto Correctional Center

1.       Standby fees, taxes and assessments by any taxing authority for the 
         year 1997, and subsequent years.

2.       An easement dated February 28, 1928, granted to Texas Power & Light 
         Company of Dallas, Texas by Nellie G. Bowers, individually and as
         executrix of the Estate of A. L. Bowers, Deceased, et al., recorded in
         Volume 235, page 534, Deed Records, Williamson County, Texas.

3.       An undivided 1/8th interest i
n all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 238, Page 363, Deed Records, Williamson
         County, Texas.

4.       An undivided 1/8th interest of all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 299, Page 572, Deed Records, Williamson
         County, Texas.

5.       An undivided 1/2 interest in all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 544, Page 97, Deed Records, Williamson
         County, Texas.

6.       An undivided 1/6 interest in all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 544, Page 99, Deed Records, Williamson
         County, Texas.

7.       An undivided 1/2 interest in all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 1088, Page 309, Official Records,
         Williamson County, Texas.

8.       An undivided 1/2 interest in all oil, gas and other minerals on, in,
         under or that may be produced from the subject property as set forth in
         instrument recorded in Volume 1133, Page 880, Official Records,
         Williamson County, Texas.

9.       All matters shown on the ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey, dated April 17, 
         1997, as revised June 24, 1997, prepared by Arthur W. Girts, Jr.,
         R.P.L.S. No. 4741, Survcon Inc., 400 W. 15th, Suite 500, Austin, Texas
         78701, Job #4775-01.



   8


                                    EXHIBIT D

                               Base Rent Schedule

                   Property: T. Don Hutto Correctional Center

         Tenant will pay to Landlord annual Base Rent of $2,541,000.00, payable
in equal monthly installments of $211,750.00.

         Base Rent for the Extended Term, Second Extended Term and Third
Extended Term shall be equal to the fair market rental value of the Leased
Property as of the respective commencement dates thereof.

The Southern Regional Council Journal, Southern Changes, has an article, “Cells for Sale,” by Harmon L. Wray, Jr. (Vol. 8, No. 3, 1986, pp. 3-6). Two paragraphs focus on the namesake of the Hutto jail:

“Another West Point alum and major CCA investor is T. Don Hutto, the corporation’s executive vice-president. Hutto, an ex-prison guard who became commissioner of corrections in Virginia and Arkansas, has since 1984 been president of the American Correctional Association, which oversees prison accreditation standards. Unlike other corrections-related professional associations-the National Sheriffs Association, the National Conference of State Trial Judges, the National Association of Criminal Justice Planners, and the American Bar Association–the ACA under Hutto’s tenure has supported prison privatization. “Apprehensions on the part of prisoner advocates and those who abhor slavery may not be unfounded when one considers the professional history of T. Don Hutto, the man CCA touts as its foremost corrections expert. The CCA’s executive vice-president’s career includes a stint as warden of the Ramsey Unit in Huntsville, Texas, in the 1960s, when the system of using inmates to guard and discipline other inmates, later outlawed in federal court, was “at its strongest,” according to the Texas Observer. A 1985 article in The Nation reported that during Hutto’s tenure as corrections commissioner in Arkansas the US Supreme Court ruled that state’s prison system unconstitutional and found that officials “evidently tried to operate their prisons at a profit.” “Inmates were required to work on prison farms ten hours a day, six days a week, often without suitable clothing or shoes, using mule-drawn plows and tending crops by hand….Punishment for minor misconduct included lashing with a wooden-handled leather strap…and administering electric shocks to ‘various sensitive parts of the inmate’s body.’ The trial court called the prisons ‘a dark and evil world completely alien to the free world.’” When confronted with this criticism, a CCA offical responded that The Nation essay was “a libelous article” and that Hutto had in fact cleaned up the unconstitutional Arkansas system.”

Link to archive

Editor’s Note: Saw the little band of justice this morning walking East on 11th Street with a sign: “Texans United for Families.” Recognized Ran Moran smiling large. Then found the following email forwarded from Marge Wood. The movement is on its feet:

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro

The Border Wall-K taught me a lot. In my 205 mile “wall-k” from Laredo to Brownsville…I learned about prison camps…in America…and right here in Texas. I learned that our government has cut a deal with three privatized prison companies that make obscene profits off of imprisoning refugees that come to this county in desperation. These prison camps are all over Texas … especially along the border…and are overflowing with primarily refugees. This privatized prison system is such a highly profitable business that more and more prisons are being built. They have the assurances that their business will grow…with the help of the Department of Homeland Security. The majority of the inmates are not criminals. In fact…the majority have no hope of due process…let alone legal representation.

This is good business for the privatized prison systems. They receive about $95 a day of our tax money per inmate. There are kick-backs to the counties that host these facilities…so county officials are not likely to object to the $1/per inmate per day kickback….which translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars to the county coffers per year.

What is worse…there is a troubling feature to the guaranteed business of these “detention centers”. Children!!! There are prison facilities that house the children that have been taken from the parents of undocumented immigrants.

Worse yet…there is a new privatized prison concept for dealing with these children. A prison camp that detains entire families. That’s right! Entire families are behind razor wire prison walls…right here in America. Right here in Texas…just 30 miles from our Texas Capitol.

At this prison camp…children are in prison uniforms and guarded by prison guards. Under a so called “kinder-gentler” federal administration that promotes “NO Child Left Behind”…these children only get an hour of education per day and an hour of physical exercise per day. The rest of the time…they live and sleep in concrete cells with their mothers. This is such a good and profitable arrangement…the DHS wants more of these facilities built….all around the county. So do the private prison system companies such as Halliburton’s Kellogg Brown & Root.

The family prison camp that is the subject of my walk is the Hutto Detention Center in Taylor, Texas…just 30 miles from the Capitol of Texas. This private business that imprisons families yields Williamson County some $200,000 per year in kickbacks.

Now…imagine. If this was purely about money…like it is for these privatized prison companies…we should look at where the money…our money…goes…and where it does not go. We blame the “illegals” for draining our tax dollars…right?

Their kids are a drain on the school system…right? So…what do we do? The leaders of our country spend billions of dollars per year on catching them. Then our government give private companies $95 per person per day so the immigrant parents cannot work…and so the kids cannot go to regular school.

Is anyone over there in Washington adding this up? How much in productive labor is an immigrant capable of doing in one day…rather than be imprisoned at the cost of some $95 per day?

Compare that same $95 per day to what it would cost to educate one child per day…whole allowing his parents to work.

Does anyone else see a problem with this picture here?

But this isn’t just about money to those with any conscience and moral fiber. It is only about money to the greedy politicians and the military-industrial complex that profits off of such fascist concepts. Is it any wonder that America looses face with the world community…when we allow such demented things to occur in our own county…things that we spend hundred of billions of dollars to defeat in other parts of the world?

At the Hutto Detention Center…there are some 400 inmates. Of those 400…about 200 are minors and children. 200 children…or 50% of the inmates in this prison camp are kids!!! Not criminals!!! Does that bother you? It does me!

So much for American justice and due process! So much for “NO Child Left Behind”!!!

I believe all of this is not only immoral, it un-American, unconscionable and in violation of not basic human rights but the children’s’ rights as established United Nations…and against our Constitution. How about un-Christian?

If you agree with me…I am inviting you to join me on my walk from the Capitol of our great State of Texas…all the way to Taylor, Texas…where the family prison camp is located. It’s called the Hutto Detention Center. Let’s let the State, the nation and the international community know that true Texans and real Americans do not subscribe to prison camps or concentration camps for desperate fellow humans and/or their children…nor will we tolerate such tyrannical conditions to exist in our country. We demand closure of such facilities…and the cessation of the kind of ruler-ship that would prescribe such demeaning treatment as prison camps to our fellow man and their children.

There is an organization of fellow Texans that has formed that is also opposed to this prison/concentration camp mentality. It is called Texans United for Families. This group plans on holding a vigil at the Hutto Detention Center on Saturday, December 15th at 11am. It is the intent of those that walk with me to arrive at the vigil at 11am and join their vigil.

For more info about the Hutto prison camp that houses families and children, you can Google “hutto family detention texas” or simply check out these links:

http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2006/05/immigration_cra.html

http://cajeproject.org/blog/?p=11

http://xicanopwr.blogspot.com/2006/04/texas-home-of-new-american.html

Feel free to share this invite with others. If you’re willing to walk a mile with me…I’ll see you

Jay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Connecting the dots…making a difference…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr.
http://www.villadelrio.com
jay@villadelrio.com
(830)768-0768
(830)768-0768 (fax)
(830)734-8636 (cell)
********************************
clipped from top of email

[This is from Jay Johnson-Castro of Del Rio.]

Hola y’all… Here’s my next walk…

Press Conference: 9:00am, Dec. 14, Capitol Steps

Depart: 10:00am

Arrive: 11:00am, Sat., Dec. 16, Hutto Detention Center, Taylor

********************************

excellent audio slide show of Jay’s border walk
http://www.alexjonesphoto.com/jay_walk_slides/

*********************************

For preview coverage of the Hutto vigil see: BBC Mundo story
By Javier Aparisi

*********************************
CLIP of American-Statesman coverage

Groups highlight plight of jailed immigrant families

By JUAN CASTILLO

Cox News Service

Friday, December 15, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas — The T. Don Hutto Residential Center, a private detention facility in Taylor, Texas, is emblematic of new federal policy that detains all unauthorized immigrants from countries other than Mexico while the government determines whether they should be deported or h
ave
a legal right to be here.

The Taylor center is used for that purpose, but it and a much smaller one in Pennsylvania share a distinction: They are the only two such facilities in the country that hold immigrant families and children on non-criminal charges.

On Thursday, members of Texans United for Families, a coalition of community, civil rights and immigrant rights groups, sought to highlight that difference. Starting with a press conference at the state Capitol, then embarking on a 35-mile walk to the Taylor jail, they charged that detaining families and children under what they described as poor conditions is immoral and violates human rights.

“Housing families in for-profit prisons not only calls to question our moral values and our respect for human rights, but it is also a waste of taxpayer money,” said Luissana Santibanez, a 25-year-old University of Texas student and an organizer with Grassroots Leadership, which works to stop the expansion of the private prison industry.

The Taylor jail began holding immigrant families this summer under a contract with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. It is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Williamson County receives $1 per day for each inmate held there. A spokesman for the company referred questions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Antonio office.

Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said it was looking into the groups’ complaints but would have no comment Thursday.

Upon learning about the protests, Rick Zinsmeyer, director of adult probation for Williamson County, said “I was told the purpose (of housing immigrant families) was to keep the families together, instead of separating them, so this is interesting.”

Organizers of Thursday’s press conference and walk said the Taylor jail houses about 400 people, including about 200 children who are held with their parents. They said children receive one hour of education — English instruction — and one hour of recreation per day, usually indoors.

Frances Valdez, an attorney with the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law who has visited clients at the facility, said detainees have reported receiving substandard medical care and becoming ill from food served at the jail.

“A lot of children are losing weight. People suffer from severe headaches,” Valdez said. “I think there’s a lot of psychological issues going on. Most of these people are asylum seekers, so they’ve already suffered severe trauma in their country.” She said immigrants are not given psychological treatment.

Valdez said children wear jail uniforms when they are big enough to fit in them, and all wear name tags. “Even a baby client had a name tag,” she said. For instruction, children are divided into groups, 12 and under and 13 and above.

Valdez said that before the government’s new policy of detaining all unauthorized immigrants was implemented in August, families who were caught trying to pass through a port of entry without authorization were charged, told to appear in court and released on humanitarian parole.

The government ended the practice, known as “catch and release,” because it said the great majority of non-Mexicans were not showing up for their court hearings.

Valdez said the government is violating standards for detaining children. She said that children held on immigration violations apart from their families receive far better care, including full education and caseworkers, in residential facilities like one in Nixon, east of San Antonio.

“They’re basically changing everything because the children are with their parents,” she said.

In March, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the government plans to open more family detention facilities.

The number of unauthorized immigrants detained by the U.S. government exploded from 6,785 in 1994 to more than 22,000 in 2006, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Thursday’s walk, which was to end with a vigil Saturday morning at the Taylor detention center, was led by Jay J. Johnson-Castro, 60, of Del Rio, who gained attention in October for his 200-mile-walk from Laredo to Brownsville to protest building a U.S.-Mexico border fence.

Johnson-Castro said he was shocked upon recently learning of the Taylor jail.

“It’s un-Christian and it’s time somebody says something,” Johnson-Castro said. “Our objective is to shut this thing down and to shut down any kind of consciousness that would exploit humans who are in desperate straits.”

From the Capitol steps, Johnson-Castro set out on his walk with about a half dozen supporters. The pack doubled in size as it passed through East Austin, and organizers said they expected more to join later. Among them were Johnson-Castro’s friend, Austin musician Teye Wijnterp, 49.

Wijnterp, a native of The Netherlands who recently became a U.S. citizen, sought to draw a line between the country’s emotional views about illegal immigration.

“Completely separated from that is how you feel that the United States of America should treat people,” he said. “Should we treat them as people, or as if they are dogs. We should be a shining example in the world.”

Juan Castillo writes for the Austin American-Statesman.