Uncovered by Human Rights Watch: Disheartening and Inhumane Treatment Meted Out to ICE Detainees
In a shocking exposé, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a 92-page report detailing severe substandard living conditions in three Florida Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers: Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and the Federal Detention Center in Miami. The report, published in July 2025, highlights "dehumanizing" and "degrading" treatment of detainees, including extreme overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, medical neglect, and abusive treatment by detention officers.
The investigation reveals systemic violations of international human rights standards within Florida’s ICE detention centers. Key findings include overcrowding and sanitation issues, prolonged shackling and transport conditions, medical neglect, degrading treatment and isolation, and restrictions on legal and psychosocial support.
Detainees have reported being packed into holding cells with insufficient sleeping accommodations and limited access to toilets, which were filthy and not cleaned for extended periods. One detainee described a toilet covered in feces with staff sarcastically dismissing requests for cleaning. Detainees have also been shackled for hours on buses without food, water, or functioning toilets, creating physically distressing conditions.
Many detainees have been denied timely or adequate medical care, including access to essential medication. Some were sent back to detention from hospitals with no follow-up treatment, and there were at least two possible deaths linked to medical neglect reported in the facilities. Guards have reportedly subjected detainees to harsh and humiliating treatment, including solitary confinement used as punishment for seeking mental health care.
The report also highlights restrictions on legal and psychosocial support, which worsen the overall conditions for detainees. Interviewees have claimed there was no bedding in frigid rooms and they were not provided proper clothing to maintain warmth. Women at Krome have claimed that they were held in processing alongside men, were forced to use the restroom in front of men, and not given appropriate medical care.
Human Rights Watch and partner organizations call for urgent reform, including prioritizing community-based alternatives to detention, independent oversight, and immediate improvement of conditions. However, Florida officials and some political figures have disputed claims of substandard conditions at other state-run detention facilities, but these statements do not directly address the findings by Human Rights Watch related to the specific ICE facilities cited.
This investigation underscores the urgent need for reform within Florida’s ICE detention system. The public is encouraged to stay informed and advocate for change to ensure the humane treatment of all detainees.
[1] Human Rights Watch (2025). "All of Us Are Dying: A Human Rights Watch Investigation into Three Florida ICE Detention Centers." [Online]. Available: https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/07/27/all-us-are-dying/human-rights-watch-investigation-three-florida-ice-detention
[2] Associated Press (2025). "Human Rights Watch: Florida ICE Detention Centers Have Substandard Conditions." [Online]. Available: https://www.apnews.com/article/florida-human-rights-ice-detention-centers-substandard-conditions-74f03659df528385718a5e8c265566a3
[3] Amnesty International (2025). "Florida ICE Detention Centers: A Systemic Failure of Human Rights." [Online]. Available: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/07/florida-ice-detention-centers-a-systemic-failure-of-human-rights/
[4] Miami Herald (2025). "Florida Officials Dispute Claims of Substandard Conditions at ICE Detention Centers." [Online]. Available: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article242175748.html
- The report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on three Florida Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, published in July 2025, revealed severe substandard living conditions in Los Angeles, particularly in the Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
- The investigative report highlighted numerous cases of health and mental-health issues, including overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, medical neglect, and abusive treatment by detention officers, resulting in a dehumanizing and degrading treatment of detainees.
- Findings from the report showed那 systemic violations of international human rights standards within Florida’s ICE detention centers, affecting areas such as health-and-wellness, as detainees were exposed to inhumane conditions and denied timely or adequate medical care.
- The investigation also revealed restrictions on legal and psychosocial support, as well as isolation, degrading treatment, prolonged shackling, and transport conditions that worsened the overall conditions for detainees, particularly in Los Angeles.
- In response to these findings, Human Rights Watch and partner organizations have called for urgent reforms, such as community-based alternatives to detention, independent oversight, and immediate improvement of conditions to ensure the humane treatment of all detainees in California, Florida, and across the nation.
