HRW says people in immigration detention are being treated as less than human, as a fundamentally broken detention system is rife with serious abuses
The United States government has subjected immigrants detained in three Florida facilities to abusive, degrading, and in some cases life-threatening conditions, Americans for Immigrant Justice, Human Rights Watch, and Sanctuary of the South said in a 92-page report – “Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centers Since January 2025.”
Issued in Washington, the report documented that people detained at Krome North Service Processing Center (Krome), Broward Transitional Center (BTC), and the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Miami have been held in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, subjected to degrading treatment, and have not been given access to prompt and adequate medical care. The groups reported experiences of 17 immigrants at the three detention facilities since January 20.
“People in immigration detention are being treated as less than human. These are not isolated incidents, but rather the result of a fundamentally broken detention system that is rife with serious abuses,” said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. Researchers for the groups interviewed current and former immigrant detainees, their family members, and immigration lawyers and analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data and other official documents.
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has driven forward a surge in immigration detention nationally, with ICE data showing that 45 out of 181 authorized detention facilities across the country exceeded their contractual capacity in mid-April. The number of people detained in Florida has also surged, driven by federal and state policies that have expanded the scope of immigration enforcement. At Krome, the detained population more than tripled in the first three months of 2025, reaching nearly three times its operational capacity.
FDC, a federal prison that in recent years had not been used for immigration detention, began holding hundreds of immigrants in February. “The anti-immigrant escalation and enforcement tactics under the Trump administration are terrorizing communities and ripping families apart, which is especially cruel in Florida, which thrives because of its immigrant communities,” said Katie Blankenship, immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South. “The rapid, chaotic, and cruel approach to arresting and locking people up is literally deadly and causing a human rights crisis that will plague this state and the entire country for years to come.”
The researchers found that Krome detainees have been routinely held in freezing, overcrowded cells without bedding, denied access to hygiene, and subjected to prolonged and unjustifiable shackling during transportation. People detained at the three centers have been unable to get necessary medical care, including for chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and HIV. Women have been held at Krome, a men’s detention facility, without access to gender-appropriate care or privacy. At least two deaths in custody—one at Krome and one at BTC—may have been linked to medical neglect.
One man described being denied medical care at Krome for a strangulated hernia until he collapsed in pain. Another detainee said she was punished for seeking mental health support. She said she witnessed the death of a 44-year-old Haitian woman after staff delayed calling for medical help. In one particularly degrading incident, detainees at FDC were forced to eat while shackled with their hands behind their backs. “We had to bend over and eat off the chairs with our mouths, like dogs,” a British entrepreneur who had been detained at a regular immigration appointment told the team members.
The researchers documented widespread overcrowding, with detainees held for days for processing in frigid conditions, sitting and sleeping on cold concrete floors in rooms designed to hold far fewer people for much shorter periods. One man described sleeping next to a toilet in a room so crowded that people had to step over each other to move. Another said he was denied access to soap or water for 20 consecutive days. At Krome after processing, some cells held more than double their intended capacity.
These conditions violate international law and appear to violate key federal government standards as well. ICE’s own detention standards require humane treatment, access to medical care, and protection from abuse. The researchers found that ICE and its contractors are failing to meet these obligations. “Mothers, fathers, siblings, children, and close friends of US citizens are being taken from their homes and communities and disappeared into a detention system that is deeply harmful and dehumanizing,” said Denise Noonan Slavin, senior adviser to the executive director at Americans for Immigrant Justice.
The US government should end its use of immigration detention as a default response to nearly everyone apprehended in ever-expanding ICE sweeps and prioritize community-based alternatives to detention, the organizations said. ICE should immediately address the abusive detention conditions, ensure access to medical and mental health care, and provide independent oversight of detention facilities. “The authorities are detaining many people who pose no threat to public safety in conditions that violate basic human rights,” Belkis Wille said, adding the US has responsibility to treat everyone with dignity.
