Victory at Hutto
Pausing the posting break to bring you news of the ACLU settlement with USCIS over conditions for children at their Hutto facility.
Under the ACLU detention agreement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to place families who have a legal basis to contest deportation — such as asylum claims — in Hutto only if no other space is available. Families facing expedited removal proceedings, where no hearing is required, may be detained but their cases must be reviewed every 30 days to see if they can be transferred or released.
The agency also agreed to allow children older than 12 to move freely about the facility, to provide a full-time pediatrician, to end a requirement that families stay in their cells 12 hours a day, and to offer field trips, toys, books and more nutritional food to children.
