
According to The Guardian and other international media outlets, since President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January, his administration has intensified crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. However, disturbing reports have emerged detailing appalling conditions in detention facilities, including medical neglect, severe overcrowding, and degrading treatment of detainees.
A joint investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the American Immigration Justice Network, and the Southern Shelter Project reveals shocking abuses at three primary detention centers in Miami - the Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and Federal Detention Center. These facilities, holding about 78% of Florida's detained immigrants as of May 25, allegedly subject detainees to dangerous medical neglect, abusive treatment, and restricted access to legal and mental health services.
Detainees report being denied basic necessities, with some forced to eat "like dogs" while handcuffed. John, a British national detained at FDC, described being left without food for hours before guards finally provided meals that detainees had to eat bent over chairs due to restraints. "We had to eat like animals," said Pedro, a Guatemalan detainee sharing similar experiences.
Conditions reportedly reach extreme levels at Krome North, where some detainees were confined in buses for over 24 hours without bathroom access, forcing them to relieve themselves inside the vehicles. Those who made it inside the facilities often found worse conditions - sleeping on concrete floors for days without proper bedding or warm clothing, with women subjected to humiliating mixed-gender detention arrangements.
Medical neglect appears systemic, with cases like Brian, who began coughing blood at FDC but was denied essential medication. The report also highlights the punitive use of solitary confinement against detainees seeking mental health support.
While the Department of Homeland Security denies these allegations, calling claims of poor conditions "completely false," the report notes a 40% surge in daily detentions since June 2023, with 72% of detainees having no criminal record - raising serious human rights concerns about the treatment of non-violent migrants under current immigration policies.
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