A recent human rights report has detailed degrading conditions and potential human rights abuses at three US immigration detention centers in Florida. The investigation, conducted by Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South, found evidence of women being held in male facilities, rampant overcrowding, and potentially deadly indifference to medical needs.
According to Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, “People in immigration detention are being treated as less than human.” Wille added that “These are not isolated incidents, but rather the result of a fundamentally broken detention system that is rife with serious abuses.” The report’s authors argue that the abuses underscore the human toll of President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign, which has forced many facilities to operate beyond their capacity.
The report details instances of denial of medical care, including the death of 44-year-old Marie Ange Blaise, a Haitian national who suffered a medical emergency at the Broward Transitional Center. A detainee recounted that guards ignored cries for help, and by the time a rescue team arrived, Blaise was not moving. In another instance, the wife of Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man, said her husband’s requests to see a doctor were repeatedly delayed while he experienced fever, chest pain, and other symptoms while in detention at Krome.
The report also highlights issues of overcrowding, with detainees at Krome saying they were held in cells that exceeded twice their capacity. The crowding led to shortages in bedding, soap, and other sanitation products, and some detainees were forced to sleep on the floor. Women held at the center reported being denied showers and forced to use open toilets potentially visible to the male population.
The authors of the report argue that the allegations amount to violations of both international law and federal US policies on immigration detention. They say the conditions show the fallout of Trump’s effort to enact mass deportations, despite lacking the proper resources. The number of people held in immigration detention has risen steadily since Trump took office, jumping from 39,238 on January 26 to 56,816 on July 13, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
The Trump administration has sought to quickly scale up its detention capacity, with plans to increase detention beds from 40,000 to 100,000 by year-end. The construction drive comes after Trump signed a tax and spending bill that surges an unprecedented $45 billion to new detention centers. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the administration will also seek to boost cooperation with states like Florida to open more detention facilities.