Deal Reached in Immigrant Kids Lawsuit

Government Reaches Deal on Detention of Immigrant Children in Texas

By ANABELLE GARAY
The Associated Press
DALLAS


Attorneys representing immigrant children detained in Texas with their families have reached a settlement that avoids a trial on their lawsuit against the federal government, officials said Monday.

The deal was announced as the trial was set to open in the lawsuit seeking release of the immigrants and improved conditions at the T. Don Hutto family residential facility in Taylor.

Hutto houses some 400 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers half of them children. None have criminal records or violent histories, but they allege they have been held in prison-like conditions.

The settlement includes an agreement for a federal magistrate to conduct periodic reviews of conditions at the former prison, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. Other terms of the settlement weren't immediately released.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates contend conditions at Hutto don't comply with a previous agreement that called for immigration authorities to house children in nonsecure, licensed programs such as shelters or foster homes. The families housed there are seeking asylum or awaiting deportation or other outcomes to their immigration cases.



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