ACLU: More changes needed for detainees

TAYLOR. Texas (AUSTIN) - The United States Immigration and Corrections Enforcement agency, also known as ICE, is investigating a case of alleged sexual assault at the T. Donn Hutto detention facility in Taylor, Texas.

The detention center is used to house immigrant families who are about to be deported. Back in May, a group of women were being taken to the airport for deportation. It was on that trip that a woman claimed she was groped by one of the guards. She also claims she was propositioned for sex.

The guard was an employee of Corrections Corporation of America which operates T.Donn Hutto. The guard has since been fired and is not allowed to work for any government agency.

ICE released this statement:

“The guard has been fired, and Corrections Corporation of America, which manages the prison, is on probation pending the investigation's outcome," says ICE Public Affairs officer Gillian Brigham.  "ICE is working to prevent the guard under investigation from working again for the federal government and is pursuing financial penalties against the company. It has also set up sexual harassment training for detention staff.”

Back in 2007, another guard was fired for allegedly having sex with a detainee in her cell. Since then the facility has implemented a host of changes  including not allowing male guards to be alone with female detainees but some civil rights activists say that's not enough.

"We do know that this is a pattern of sexual assault allegations that we hear in these detention facilitates," says Bob Libal, Grassroots Leadership texas campaigns coordinator. "Whether their operated by the government or whether their operated by private corporations like Hutto is, so I think it's a systemic problem that can't be pushed aside by one guard."
 

The 490-bed Hutto facility is a former prison where children and their parents were previously held. As part of the Obama administration's immigration detention reforms, ICE ended the family detentions at Hutto and converted it to a facility for female detainees. The changes were considered a symbol of the overhaul of immigration detention, where some detainees had died due to medical neglect and U.S. citizens were illegally held.

"Criminally prosecuting him either federally or the state of Texas through WIlliamson County could prosecute him as well and then taking serious steps with respect to what went wrong at the institutional level that allowed this to happen," says Lisa Graybill legal director at America Civil Liberties Union . " Many of these women are told they will be retaliated against if they come forward."

Another change as part of the plan, ICE officials said they would step up monitoring of its largest detention centers, removing that role from private companies that operate the facilities under contract with ICE.
 

Williamson County Sheriff's office is now conducting its own investigation into the alleged assault.