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April 25, 2006, 12:45AM
Prison may house immigrant families
Detainees would be held in Taylor before deportation


Associated Press

TAYLOR - A private prison could become the second facility in the country to house immigrant families detained by federal authorities.

The T. Don Hutto Correctional Center, owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America, already had a contract to house immigration detainees. A new agreement approved by Williamson County commissioners last week changes the class of detainees from adult men to families, said assistant county attorney Dale Rye.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said noncriminal immigration detainees would be held at the Taylor facility. But the agency wouldn't confirm if those included families awaiting deportation, and a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America declined comment.

"No decisions have been made at this time," said ICE spokeswoman Ernestine Fobbs.

Currently, the prison has no detainees.

Documents detailing the changes say the facility could hold up to 600 detainees. While it would still remain secure from the outside, the facility's interior wouldn't be as restrictive, according to the documents.

The facility would have separate sleeping quarters for men and women. Playpens, cribs and classroom space would be added, according to the documents.

Typically, families detained by immigration authorities who can't be immediately returned to their home countries are either released on bond or separated, with men, women and children going to different sites.

The Department of Homeland Security appropriated $1 billion for detention this year.

Williamson County will work as an intermediary in billing transactions between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Corrections Corporation of America. The county would earn $1 per day for each inmate, or about $200,000 each year, if the facility is at capacity, said Rick Zinsmeyer, county director of adult probation.