Advocates say sick Krome detainees will be deported to Africa
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A group of detainees at Miami's Krome Detention Center and Broward Transitional Center are facing deportation to Africa, despite some citing serious medical conditions, advocates say.
Why it matters: This is the latest example of the Trump administration's deportation efforts with immigrants facing health problems that have come under scrutiny by immigrant rights and humanitarian groups.
- It also places a further spotlight on the conditions at Krome Detention Center, where accounts of inhumane conditions have been reported.
The latest: During a news conference Tuesday night, advocates from The Workers Circle, a social justice group, said detainees with serious medical conditions were notified they would be deported to a country in Africa.
- On Wednesday afternoon, Noelle Damico, director of social justice at the national nonprofit, told Axios a "handful of men" were taken that morning from Krome.
- It's unclear if those detainees had serious medical conditions, as the organization said not only sick people are being taken.
What they're saying: "[Detainees] are being told that Mexico would not receive them [because of their medical condition]. Cubans are being told Cuba won't receive you and therefore we're sending you to Africa," Damico told Axios.
- "The fact we'd target men with medical conditions. … It's abhorrent," she said. "This is profoundly inhumane."
- The organization is "in contact" with detainees in Africa, including Libya, Sudan and Eswatini, she told Axios. "What we know about those conditions are terrifying. There's no medical care."
The other side: An ICE spokesperson called the allegations false in an email to Axios, saying "no sick detainees are being deported" and "all detainees are medically cleared before travel and leave with any necessary medication."
- Detainees "sent to a third country receive notice and assurances prior to their removal," the spokesperson said. The State Department receives "assurances from destination countries that the illegal aliens being removed there will be safe."
- The spokesperson did not respond to questions seeking confirmation about whether the flights had taken place or about the destination.
The big picture: The alleged deportations come just weeks after the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration, allowing it to resume rapidly deporting immigrants to "third countries."
Between the lines: Between January 2025 and August 2026, more than 500 people were deported to countries in Africa that were not their places of birth, according to a Human Rights Watch report based on ICE deportation data.