This report, prepared in 2010, documents the state of United States immigration detention practices, focusing on Northwest Detention Center – run by The GEO Group, Inc. – and on the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility – run by the Corrections Corporation of America.

The report was prepared by Robert Goodis as his Senior Project in fulfillment of the requirements for his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Human Rights at Bard College.  The report concludes that further research is necessary to reach any viable sociology-based recommendations, and it is based on these findings that The Goodis Center has continued researching immigration detention as one of our primary areas of focus.  While the report was unable to point to a sociological key to reforming immigration detention, it does unveil systemic problems in immigration detention across the United States and broadly offer the insight that alternatives to detention should be used whenever possible.

An excerpt from Chapter Three – Case Study: T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, Williamson County, TX, and the Corrections Corporation of America is included below.  The full report is available for viewing and download here.

Excerpt from Chapter Three – Case Study: T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, Williamson County, TX, and the Corrections Corporation of America

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Read the rest of the report here.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Focusing on Asylum-Seekers, Asylees, and Refugees………………………………………… 1
Chapter One………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
A Short Introduction to Refugee Policy and the Definitions of Refugee & Asylum-Seeker ……. 3
A Brief Historical Survey of the Role of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in U.S. Legislation …… 14
A Survey and Summary of Select Laws, Doctrines, and Jurisprudence Affecting Refugee and
Asylum-Seeker Detention in the United States ……………………………………………………………… 17
The Response-Time of the United States in Changing Laws to Abide by International
Standards ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
Chapter Two – Case Study: Northwest Detention Center …………………………………………………… 36
The History and Purpose of the Northwest Detention Center and The GEO Group, Inc. …….. 36
Facility Design, Daily Living, and Detainee Demographics ……………………………………………. 38
Issues Facing Detainees at NWDC ………………………………………………………………………………. 41
Due process and grievances at NWDC ……………………………………………………………………… 41
Food, living conditions, medical care, and visitation at NWDC …………………………………… 48
Punishment and treatment by guards ………………………………………………………………………… 55
Administration and Oversight Issues at NWDC …………………………………………………………….. 59
Chapter Three – Case Study: T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, Williamson County, TX,
and the Corrections Corporation of America ………………………………………………………………….. 66
The History and Purpose of the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility and the Corrections
Corporation of America ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 66
Facility Design, Daily Living, and Detainee Demographics ……………………………………………. 71
Issues Facing Detainees at Hutto …………………………………………………………………………………. 78
Due process and grievances at Hutto ………………………………………………………………………… 78
Food, living conditions, visitation, medical care, and education at Hutto ………………………. 83
Punishment and treatment by guards ………………………………………………………………………… 93
Administration and Oversight Issues at Hutto ……………………………………………………………….. 97
Chapter Four – Analysis, Conclusions, and Recommendations …………………………………………. 102
The Human Rights, Social, and Legal Implications of Contemporary Detention Practices … 102
The Human Rights, Social, and Legal Implications of Contemporary Detention Practices as
Analyzed through a Sociological Approach ………………………………………………………………… 114
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 125
Acronyms and Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 151

Abstract:

“Contemporary Immigration Detention Practices in the United States: A Study in Sociology and Human Rights” is a study on the detention and incarceration of immigrants, with particular focus on the effects and implications of detaining refugees and asylum-seekers, in the United States. The study reports on two specific detention facilities—the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, and the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility (a.k.a. T. Don Hutto Residential Center) in Taylor, Texas—as sociological case-studies, primarily presented as legal briefs, to explore how contemporary detention practices relate to the legal structure and ideals established by domestic and international law, including international human rights law. Through an analysis of how current practices satisfy or miss ideal standards set by laws, declarations, policies, and other such guidelines, this study determines that current detention practices constitute a clear and detrimental case of systemic human rights violations. While a brief sociological exploration of the trends and conditions in immigration detention offers various theories which may explain—and eventually go into forming an effective remedy for—these violations, this study can only determine that more research needs to be compiled in order to reach any valid sociological conclusions.

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