Miami's ICE facility under spotlight for overcrowding, poor conditions claims
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: John Moore, J.Emilio Flores and Veronica G. Cardena/Getty Images, and Pool/Pool via Getty Images
As President Trump's immigration crackdown continues, one detention center in Miami is holding more than twice as many people as the space was meant for — which some attorneys say is a growing issue nationally.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's goal of deporting "millions" of people has led officials to jam more than 46,000 detainees into a system designed to hold no more than about 40,000, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records.
- The result: In some centers, arrested non-citizens are living in inhumane conditions, enduring days without a shower and sleeping on floors and in overcrowded spaces, detainee attorneys tell Axios.
The crowding is just one sign of a system under stress:
- Officials are scrambling to arrange more detention space across the U.S. and abroad.
- They're sending detainees they've deemed as dangerous on controversial — and legally questionable — flights to foreign prisons without giving them court hearings.
- And they're monitoring other unauthorized immigrants who've been arrested and released after agreeing to return for their court dates.
Zoom in: At the Krome North Processing Detention Center in Miami, about 200 people were at one point being held in a room meant for 85, Paul Chavez, director of the litigation program at Americans for Immigrant Justice, told Axios.
- "If you have a building that's meant for 600 people, and now you have twice that in there, it'll inevitably lead to issues," he said.
Attorney Sabrina Surgil's client, a man in his 50s who's been at Krome since November, told her the conditions were fair when he arrived but that the number of detainees ballooned after Trump took office.
- He told her his friends at the facility are "sleeping on the floor, sleeping by toilets," she told Axios.
Between the lines: ICE doesn't provide current numbers of those in detention due to "operational and security concerns," a spokesperson told Axios.
What they're saying: Detainees often are hesitant to speak out about conditions in detention, particularly if they're trying to get an immigration court to allow them to stay in the U.S.
- But conditions have been so poor that some immigrants prefer deportation to spending more time in the facilities, Chavez said.
- "A lot of people are just signing orders to be removed, because the conditions are so horrible," he said.
The other side: Nestor Yglesias, an ICE spokesperson in its Miami office, said in a statement that "some ICE facilities are experiencing temporary overcrowding due to recent increases in detention populations."
- Still, he said, the agency is taking steps to alleviate crowding, including transferring detainees and "expedited case processing where appropriate."
- "We are actively implementing measures to manage capacity while maintaining compliance with federal standards and our commitment to humane treatment," Yglesias said.
Yes, but: Three people have died at the Krome center while in ICE custody since October, most recently a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who died in February, NBC Miami reported.
- A now-viral video shows people sleeping on the floor, and a man explaining there is little to no food at the center, the outlet reported.
What's next: A protest — "Rally To Stop Kamp Krome" — is scheduled for Saturday from 11am-2pm at the corner of Tamiami Trail and Krome Ave.