Unveiled: Alarming 'Degrading' Conditions Revealed in Florida's Immigration Detention Hubs
In a joint report released by Americans for Immigrant Justice, Human Rights Watch, and Sanctuary of the South, Florida's immigration detention centers, specifically Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and the Federal Detention Center in Miami, are under scrutiny for severe conditions and potential human rights violations.
The 92-page report, titled "'You Feel Like Your Life is Over': Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centers Since January 2025", outlines numerous abuses, including detainees being held for long periods in overcrowded, freezing cells, forced to sleep on cold concrete floors under harsh lighting without bedding, shackled on buses without food, water, or functioning toilets, and systematically denied critical medications or follow-up medical care after hospital stays.
Some detainees were placed in solitary confinement as punishment for seeking mental health care, and others faced disrupted legal representation due to sudden transfers. The report highlights the systemic nature of these issues, linking the abuses to a fundamentally broken immigration detention system amplified by state and local policies in Florida that have increased detention rates dramatically.
Immigration attorneys describe Krome's conditions as "the worst seen in 20 years" and akin to an "international human rights disaster". In response, the US government has been called on by these organizations to end routine use of detention for nearly all apprehended immigrants and instead prioritize community-based alternatives. They demand immediate action to rectify these abusive conditions, ensure detainees receive medical and mental health care, and establish independent oversight of detention facilities.
However, there is no indication from the search results that the US government has yet publicly acknowledged these allegations or initiated reforms. Instead, ICE has expanded detention by placing detainees in Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, which brings additional concerns about the punitive nature of holding civil immigration detainees under pretrial inmate classification, further complicating their access to legal rights and protections.
The report underscores the urgent need for reform in Florida's immigration detention centres. Key findings include:
- Severe overcrowding, freezing crowded cells - Denial of prompt/adequate medical care, neglect leading to deaths - Degrading, dehumanizing, solitary confinement abuse - Severely limited, disrupted legal representation due to transfers - Immigrants held as “pretrial inmates,” harsh conditions
These findings represent a critical human rights and policy crisis in Florida immigration detention centers as of mid-2025. Krome, one of the Florida detention centers, saw a 249 percent surge in detainees by March compared to pre-inauguration levels, often holding more than three times its operational capacity. By June 20, approximately 56,000 people were held in immigration detention each day, a 40 percent increase compared to June 2024.
Detainees with diabetes, HIV, asthma, kidney conditions, and chronic pain reported being denied essential medications and doctor visits. The findings in the report echo conditions independently documented by the Miami Herald in recent months. Human Rights Watch sent letters to ICE, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the private companies managing Krome and Broward Transitional Center, detailing their findings and requesting responses, but only the company operating Krome replied.
In summary, the report sheds light on the dire conditions and potential human rights violations in Florida's immigration detention centers, calling for immediate action from the US government to address these issues and prioritize the well-being and rights of detainees.
- The joint report, discussing conditions in Florida's immigration detention centers, reveals that detainees are being denied critical medications or follow-up medical care after hospital stays, highlighting a significant concern in the realm of health-and-wellness.
- Moreover, the report emphasizes a link between state and local policies in Florida and the aggravated issues within the immigration detention system, which falls under policy-and-legislation and politics.
- The report also points out that some detainees are placed in solitary confinement as punishment for seeking mental health care, shedding light on the mental-health aspect of this human rights crisis in the general-news context.
