People from across Texas to converge outside the T. Don Hutto Detention Center for a rally to call on Congress to close the facility and stop three new 10-year ICE detention contracts
WHAT: Rally to demand the closure of the South Texas Detention Complex (in Persall), Houston Processing Center (in Houston) and T. Don Hutto Detention Center as ICE looks to keep the facilities open for another decade
WHO: Fuerza Texas Coalition (Grassroots Leadership, Workers Defense Project, Texas Organizing Project, United We Dream), University of Texas student group People Before Policy, and directly impacted communities and immigrant rights advocates representing organizations from across the state
WHEN: Saturday, November 16 at 1:00 PM CST
WHERE: T. Don Hutto Detention Center, 100 S Doak St., Taylor, TX 76574
VISUALS: Banners and posters
TAYLOR, TEXAS — On Saturday, November 16, formerly detained people, students, and immigrant rights advocates from across Texas will join Grassroots Leadership at the T. Don Hutto detention center in a rally to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from securing 10-year contracts for three notorious detention centers in the state. There will be a simultaneous rally 2pm Saturday at the Houston Processing Center.
The facilities, South Texas Detention Complex (in Persall), Houston Processing Center (in Houston) and T. Don Hutto Detention Center (in Taylor) made up nearly 22 percent of the average daily population of people detained in Texas for Fiscal Year 2019. ICE has not previously relied widely on direct contracts with private prison companies, but rather has contracted with local governments as intermediaries. Advocates view this as an alarming new trend that could create a template for ICE to rapidly create new detention centers across the country and tie the hands of a future administration or Congress from dismantling the country’s massive immigrant detention system.
ICE is seeking these decade long contracts despite the sustained and increasing call to shut down the immigration jails for good. In the case of the T. Don Hutto Detention Center, Williamson County voted in June 2018 to pull out of their existing contract with ICE following abuse allegations and community opposition. Even so, ICE maneuvered to create a temporary contract directly with CoreCivic, a private prison company, for the detention center to remain open. For almost a year, advocates and lawmakers have asked for information regarding the contract. In fact, ICE is currently being sued by Grassroots Leadership for denying access to information on the contract in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
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Grassroots Leadership is an Austin, Texas-based national organization that works for a more just society where prison profiteering, mass incarceration, deportation, and criminalization are things of the past. Follow us @Grassroots_News.
Contact:
Bethany Carson, bcarson@grassrootsleadership.org, 512-499-8111
