Last month the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2010 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (H.R. 2892).  The accompanying report to the bill stated that the Appropriations Committee…

...believes that detention is not generally appropriate for families and is concerned that the Department does not routinely make Alternatives to Detention available to families it takes into custody. In addition, while the Committee is pleased that ICE developed and implemented detention standards for families held in its custody, it remains concerned that ICE family detention standards are based on adult prison standards. The Committee directs the Department to prioritize the use of Alternatives to Detention program for families who do not need to be held in immigration detention. The Committee further directs the Office of Professional Responsibility to conduct a review of families detained in ICE custody since 2007 and determine whether ICE complied with its own internal guidance for when to hold families in custody and when to release them to Alternatives to Detention programs. The Committee directs ICE to report on the results of this review no later than the submission of the 2011 budget.

This statement is especially significant given that the Hutto settlement agreement (described in “The Least of These") will expire in August, along with federal district court oversight of the facility.