[PAA-Discuss] Media from Hutto rally

Wed Jul 4 11:24:42 EDT 2007

from my AI list;

Hi everyone:  
I just wanted to say again what a great job  everyone did with the Hutto 
vigil in Taylor. TX. It was really great that we had  such a great turn out and 
the weather held for us.  It was great to see  everyone! 
I just thought I'd pass on what I know was  covered by media.  It seems like 
it got pretty good local coverage across  Texas and at least some 
nationa/international Spanish-language coverage.  I  would have said about 250-300 people, 
but if the AP wants to say 400, I say we  take it.  The coverage says 
anything from 200-500.  AI's name didn't  come up too much, but it came up about as 
much as some of the other  co-sponsors.  Even the Spanish media didn't mention 
anyone by name (though  LULAC showed up more in the pictures than we did).  
But for the most part  everyone got the story that children are being detained, 
which was the most  important thing.  And World Refugee Day made it into the 
AP story, which is  great. 
I saw or heard of stories that ran on  
    *   the Houston ABC affiliate on 6/24 local  morning news  
    *   Primer Impacto (Univision) - International  Spanish-language program 
6/24  
    *   Univision national evening news (Houston  affiliate)  
    *   740 AM Houston radio  
    *   This AP article ran in the Houston Chronicle  (at least the online 
version).  There is also a dead link on the website  to AI's statement related 
to Hutto - maybe it worked once?  The same  article is on the online 
International Herald Tribune site and the  Austin-American Statesman, and also on the 
_www.woai.com_ (file://www.woai.com/)  website, which appears to be local San 
Antonio news  and _www.kxan.com_ (file://www.kxan.com/)  with appears to be 
local Austin news (I think they're  NBC - are they the ones with the multicolored 
peacock as their symbol?) and  _www.abc40.com_ (file://www.abc40.com/)  which 
is is the Bryan/College Station local ABC  affiliate, 
_http://www.lubbockonline.com_ (http://www.lubbockonline.com/)  and an edited version is on 
_www.kvia.com_ (file://www.kvia.com/) , the El Paso/Las Cruces ABC affiliate 
AP Texas News    
June 23, 2007,  4:16PM
Protesters continue opposition to family detention center 
© 2007 The Associated Press 
TAYLOR, Texas — About 400 protesters gathered  outside of a highly criticized 
center for detaining immigrant families Saturday  as part of World Refugee 
Day and asked officials to close down the facility, an  official participating 
in the protest said. 
Civil liberties advocates contend families at  the T. Don Hutto facility are 
subjected to psychologically abusive guards,  inadequate medical care and 
inhumane conditions in an immigration center they  say is run like a prison. They 
sued federal officials in March on behalf of  several children detained at 
Hutto. 
"There are hundreds of children in this facility  and it is a prison," said 
Bob Libal of Texans United for Families. "We don't  think immigrant families 
should be held in prison." 
The former prison typically houses about 400  non-criminal immigrants 
awaiting deportation or other outcomes to their  immigration cases. About half of 
those detained at Hutto are children, officials  have said. 
Immigration officials describe Hutto as a  residential, nonsecure environment 
that keeps families together while they seek  asylum, await deportation or 
seek other outcomes to their immigration cases.  They say they have made the 
facility more family friendly by housing family  members in adjacent cells and 
prohibiting the use of force. 
Star-Telegram Article
Category: _News and Politics_ 
(http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.viewCategory&FriendID=171847268&BlogCategoryID=17)  
Posted on Sun,  Jun. 24, 2007 
Detainment of  families is protested 
_Link to  Original_ 
(http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/147423.html) 

By NOOR  ELASHI
Star-Telegram staff writer

TAYLOR -- The tall fence, small cells and prison scrubs  are familiar to 
Yvette Richardson, a Richland Hills resident who said she used  to work at a Texas 
prison.  
"I know what it's like on the inside,"  Richardson said. 
"It's no place for a  child." 
Richardson was among an  estimated 400 to 500 people who gathered in front of 
the T. Don Hutto Family  Residential Facility on Saturday to protest the 
detainment of immigrant children  and their parents. 
Civil liberties advocates contend that families  detained at Hutto are 
subjected to psychologically abusive guards, inadequate  medical care and inhumane 
conditions in an immigration center they say is run  like a prison. They sued 
federal officials in March on behalf of several  children detained at Hutto. 
"There are hundreds of children in this facility  and it is a prison," said 
Bob Libal of Texans United for Families. "We don't  think immigrant families 
should be held in prison." 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials,  however, say the Hutto 
facility is a civilized way of keeping families together  while they seek asylum, 
await deportation or seek other outcomes to their  immigration cases. 
The facility is one of two immigration detention  centers in the United 
States; the other facility is in Leesport, Pa.  
The Hutto facility was in the news this year  when a Richardson resident of 
Palestinian heritage and her four children were  held there for 12 weeks. 
The protest, part of International Refugee Day,  was hosted by several peace 
coalitions, such as Amnesty International, Children  and Families for Humane 
Treatment Alliance, and the League of United Latin  American Citizens. 
Some protesters, like Jennifer Helber, attended  the rally to raise 
awareness. 
"Hutto is  not reported like Paris Hilton," Helber said. 
Several protesters wore T-shirts that read "No child left  behind bars." They 
chanted, "Shut down Hutto" and "No justice, no peace" and  held signs that 
read "Don't jail families for profit" and "No human being is  illegal." 
"I would like for immigration officials to use  their common sense, take the 
children out of prison and put the families on  electronic monitoring," said 
Clarence Memfis Madyun of Duncanville. 
"That's a lot more humane than what they've been  doing." 
This report includes material  from The Associated Press. 
The Hutto  facility 
The 75,000-square-foot T. Don  Hutto Family Residential Facility houses about 
290 immigrants, mostly children,  from Central America and countries 
including Ethiopia, Greece, Haiti, Iraq,  Romania and Russia. 
The Department of Homeland Security opened the  prison in May 2006 after 
Congress criticized the Immigration and Customs  Enforcement's "catch-and-release" 
policy, which allowed families involved in  immigration proceedings to stay 
free until their hearings. Some families never  showed up for their court 
dates, immigration officials  said.       

Also check out the Free the Children myspace page for  Austin media 
(including a clip of Sarnata on CBS) and several slidesshows of  pictures. 
_http://www.myspace.com/free_the_children_ 
(http://www.myspace.com/free_the_children)  
Way to go everyone.  This was a lot of work and I’m  sure we're all glad that 
it turned out so well (OK, some glitches with the sound  system, but overall, 
very well!). 

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