"Dignity not Detention" Texas Campaign
Texas has one of the highest concentrations of detention centers in the country with a capacity to detain more than 10,000 immigrants at any one time. The largest detention center in the US, the 3,086 bed Willacy County Detention Center (aka Tent City because it is largely built out of a series of kevlar pods) has seen repeated allegations of human rights abuses. Owned by the Utah-based Management and Training Corporation (MTC), Tent City is one of many detention centers run for profit and with little federal oversight. As we called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate, however, detainees at the ICE-owned Port 1,500 bed Isabel Detention Center (PIDC) launched a hunger strike. The problems at PIDC show that ICE oversight cannot solve the problems at Tent City, and so Texans United for Families calls on the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to:
- Close Tent City and the Port Isabel Detention Center.
- Respond to human rights abuse allegation through a transparent grievance process.
- End detainee transfers away from loved ones and communities of support.
- Ensure due process by reducing Texas immigration court dockets to reasonable levels.
For more information about Texans United for Families please contact Bob Libal at blibal@grassrootsleadership.org or call 512-971-0487
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