Tied up, starved, forced to kneel: Inside the ICE hellhole Florida jail treating migrants worse than dogs

New, shocking claims show how terrible it is for migrants who are being held in South Florida immigration jails. A report from human rights groups says that three ICE detention centers in Florida have terrible conditions, where migrants were allegedly tied up, starved, and treated badly.

There are claims that migrants at Miami's ICE jail were forced to kneel and eat from styrofoam plates "like dogs" while shackled and had their hands tied behind their backs, as quoted in a report by the Guardian.

Human rights advocates demand accountability. Advocacy groups say that these jails are too full, inhumane, and a growing stain on the conscience of the country.


A series of alleged abuses at Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE)-operated jails in the state since January have been documented by advocacy groups Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South based on interviews with detainees, including the incident at the federal detention center downtown.

What exactly happened inside the Miami detention center?

The report claimed that for hours, dozens of men had been crammed into a holding cell and denied lunch until roughly 7:00 p.m. They were still chained, and the food was on the chairs before them. According to Pedro, one of the prisoners, "we had to eat like animals."

There is a lot of overcrowding, medical neglect, and physical abuse, and things have gotten worse since Trump's immigration crackdown started in January.

The groups claim that guards frequently treat inmates in all three jails in a dehumanizing manner. Gender-appropriate care, showers, and sufficient food were denied to female detainees at the Krome North service processing center in west Miami, where they were forced to use restrooms in plain sight of the men being held there.

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According to some transferring detainees, the jail was so overcrowded that they were detained in a bus in the parking lot for more than twenty-four hours. In order to use the one toilet, which soon became clogged, men and women were confined together and only unchained when necessary.

"Others defecated in the toilet because they were on the bus for so long and were not allowed to get off," according to one man. "As a result, there was a strong fecal odor throughout the bus," as per a report by The Guardian.

How bad are conditions at Krome and Broward facilities?

They claimed that after the group was eventually admitted to the hospital, many of them slept on the chilly concrete floor for up to 12 days while cooped up in a freezing intake room they called la hielera, or the icebox.

According to the report, Krome had so many detainees and so little space that every room was used to accommodate new arrivals.

Detainees claimed they were frequently denied proper medical or psychological care at the Broward transitional center in Pompano Beach, where Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, passed away in April.

Some experienced hostile or contemptuous reactions from staff members, as well as delayed treatment for chronic illnesses and injuries. A "disturbance control team" allegedly brutalized inmates who were protesting the lack of medical attention for one of their number who was coughing up blood, and staff allegedly turned off a surveillance camera at the downtown Miami jail in April.

What’s causing this crisis and who’s being held?

The decision by Florida to swiftly construct the contentious "Alligator Alcatraz" prison in the Everglades, which would house up to 5,000 undocumented migrants awaiting deportation, was influenced by the extreme overcrowding in all three facilities.

In mid-June, there were 56,400 immigration detentions nationwide on average per day, with nearly 72% of those detained having no criminal history. Inhumane conditions within federal immigration facilities have gotten considerably worse since Trump's January inauguration and subsequent push to increase detentions and deportations, as evidenced by the documented abuses.

FAQs

What kind of abuse did migrants report inside the ICE jails?
They claimed they were shackled, denied food, and forced to eat on their knees.

Which Florida ICE jails were involved?
Detention facilities in downtown Miami, Krome North, and Broward Transitional were all named.