TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — Whatever lies behind the razor wire and concrete walls of the T. Don Hutto Detention Center has gone unseen by local officials for the last five years.
The Williamson County Commissioners Court voted to terminate its agreement with ICE and CoreCivic, the contractor ICE hired to run the facility, back in 2018. That contract officially came to an end in 2019.
In that meeting, Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said she was voting to terminate to hand the responsibility of complying with the law back to ICE.
"Laws and policies are the federal government's responsibilities, not the county's," Long said.
In the months leading up to that vote, protesters called on the county to bow out of the agreement. The demonstrators made troubling claims about unsafe conditions for the women detainees housed there.
In 2017, protesters rallied in support of an asylum seeker who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a guard inside the center.
CoreCivic and ICE signed a new agreement without the county that went into effect in 2020 and runs through 2030. The $264.6 million contract mostly outlines the minimum number of detainees for the facility and the budget for its detainee work program.
Facility operates without local input, oversight
During the 2018 discussion on whether to terminate the county's involvement with the facility, Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook voiced concerns that if ended, the county would lose its ability to check in on the center and its detainees.
A stipulation of the agreement allowed Williamson County Sheriff's deputies to patrol and enter the facility whenever they wanted. Cook noted that such access found suspicious activity in the past.
"They clearly have uncovered problems in the past which did result in a court case against a person," Cook said.
Williamson County confirmed that WCSO deputies have not patrolled or checked in on the center since the contract ended on Jan. 31, 2019.
KXAN gave Sheriff Matthew Lindemann the opportunity to speak on camera multiple times this week but he declined. His office gave us a statement that confirmed it has no affiliation with the facility.
At this time, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office does not have a formal agreement in place with any particular federal operations related to immigration enforcement. However, as always, we remain committed to public safety and to enforcing all applicable laws in accordance with our mission to serve and protect the community.
Williamson County Sheriff's OfficeThe only local agency that has a current tie to the facility is the Taylor Police Department.
A spokesperson for the City of Taylor shared a Memorandum of Understanding between TPD and CoreCivic that went into effect on June 1, 2024. However, it only allows TPD to provide backup to the center should a situation call for it.
CoreCivic, ICE stay tight-lipped on Detainee Work Program
As mentioned, the current agreement between ICE and CoreCivic outlines the center's capacity and its detainee voluntary work program.
The document says the center is guaranteed to have a minimum of 461 beds, which is representative of 461 detainees. While it outlined the work program's budget, it does not specify what work is done by the detainees in the program, just that detainees make $1 a day.
We asked Williamson County, the City of Taylor, CoreCivic and ICE how many detainees are in the program, what work is being done and how detainees are being compensated.
The county and City of Taylor say they don't know what work is being done in the program, and specified that they do not use detainee work.
CoreCivic gave us a statement that did not answer those questions but said the program is operating legally.
All work programs at our U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted facilities are completely voluntary and operated in full compliance with ICE standards, including federally established minimum wage rates for detainee volunteer labor. Detainees are subject to no disciplinary action whatsoever if they choose not to participate in the work program. We set and deliver the same high standard of care – including three daily meals, access to health care and other everyday living needs – regardless of whether a detainee participates in a voluntary work program. We have worked in close partnership with ICE for more than 30 years and will continue to provide a safe and humane environment to those entrusted to our care.
Spokesperson for CoreCivicCoreCivic referred us to ICE for answers about the program. ICE has not responded to our multiple requests at the time of publishing this article.
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