Demonstrators in South Florida took to the streets over the weekend to protest President Donald Trump鈥檚 aggressive deportation strategy and reported inhumane conditions at an immigrant detention center off Krome Avenue in west Miami-Dade.
Protesters also rallied outside a Tesla dealership in Fort Lauderdale to oppose billionaire Elon Musk for slashing federal government jobs as head of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE.
READ MORE: Cuban man's family demands release from ICE custody after arrest outside Miami home
In west Miami-Dade, the Miami Herald and other media outlets reported that hundreds of demonstrators crowded the entrance to the Krome North Service Processing Center to call out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, for the alleged mistreatment of immigrants detained at the facility.
鈥淗istory has shown us that when we overpopulate detention centers like this, people pass away,鈥� Bryson Holtzer, one of the rally鈥檚 organizers. 鈥淭hey have not been very transparent about the way that they鈥檙e running these facilities, so we can鈥檛 be sure that they are treating these people humanely, women or men.鈥�
Leo Gonzalez, 25, that the country 鈥渃annot let immigrants in this country be harassed by ICE and be kidnapped.鈥�
Sui Chung, executive director of Americans for Immigrant Justice, said Krome has had a long controversial history dating back four decades but that what鈥檚 happening now is 鈥渁lmost unprecedented.鈥�
In an interview on SA国际传谋鈥檚 South Florida Roundup Friday, she said she鈥檚 especially worried about reports that women are now being housed in the facility.
鈥淲omen have not been housed at Krome for many decades,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don't know what the conditions are for women and given Krome's horrific history and the history of medical neglect, sexual abuse, and the poor conditions 鈥� this is really alarming.鈥�
that 鈥渋t is not uncommon for female detainees to be staged at Krome.鈥�
鈥淭his happens as the agency works on transferring the female detainees to another detention center or while they are waiting for their removal flight," the spokesperson said. "During the staging process, female detainees are not placed into the general population, thus male detainees to do not have access to female detainees."
The protests at Krome come only a week after four women that they were held there "like animals" and subjected to conditions 鈥渟o extreme they feared for their lives.鈥� None of the women had a criminal background.
The women spoke to the national media outlet without disclosing their names in fear of retaliation by ICE authorities.
Two Krome detainees have also died in custody in recent months, according to ICE. , an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, died Jan. 23. The other undocumented immigrant was , 44, of Ukraine, who died Feb. 20.
In a statement to USA Today, ICE officials said the agency 鈥渢akes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously.鈥�
鈥淭hese allegations are not in keeping with ICE policies, practices and standards of care,鈥� ICE officials added.
Despite the protests in South Florida and across the country, Trump鈥檚 deportation program remains popular with a majority of Americans, according a released Sunday. It found 58% approved compared to 42% who disapproved.
In Florida, which heavily favored Trump 鈥� who pledged to deport all undocumented immigrants 鈥� over Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential election, about 70% of Hispanic voters statewide said they favored reducing the number of immigrants who were allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. when they arrived at the U.S. border, according to AP VoteCast. That was in line with Florida voters overall.
Since taking office in January, Trump has carried out his aggressive immigration agenda, including a campaign and to close U.S. borders to what he describes as being "under invasion" from undocumented migrants.
In early March, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, of suspected undocumented immigrants in Trump's first 50 days in office, noting it was the same number arrested in the entire previous fiscal year.
"We will see the number of deportations continue to rise," said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement. "And illegal immigrants have the option to self-deport and come back LEGALLY in the future."
鈥淎nd our team at ICE will help us continue moving forward to make America SAFE again," she said.
READ MORE: 'It's not personal': Trump's deportation efforts find support among South Florida Latinos
Tesla, Musk and growing protests
Protesters against Musk鈥檚 purge of the U.S. government under Trump have been demonstrated weekly outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. in opposition to Musk, who has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire federal agencies as he attempts to slash government spending.
The biggest portion of Musk鈥檚 estimated $340 billion fortune consists of his stock in Tesla, the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Trump.
This Saturday marked the first attempt by protesters to surround all 277 of the automaker鈥檚 showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening .
By early afternoon crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the automaker's home state of Texas as part of the . Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as 鈥� 鈥� and 鈥� .鈥�
In Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported more than more than 400 protesters who lined the street on Federal Highway outside a Tesla dealership.
鈥淢usk has gone in and trashed every institution we have,鈥� Andrew Moreo, of Coral Springs, . 鈥淚鈥檓 an educator, so the destruction of the Department of Education is a travesty. The feeling is that they are trying to create uneducated citizenry.鈥�
Protesters held up a variety of signs protesting Musk. From 鈥淗onk if Hate Nazis鈥� to 鈥淓lon Musk has your tax returns鈥� to 鈥淐urb your Doge.鈥�
The CBS News poll found the country evenly divided on DOGE's drive to reduce the federal workforce.
, Musk and some of his top aides at DOGE, defended their work.
"Everything I do is under extreme scrutiny. So there's not an action I can take that doesn't get scrutiny six ways to Sunday. Every action that the DOGE team does is public... It's the most amount of transparency there's been about any government thing ever," he said. He also said companies are "suffering" due to his role in the Trump administration.
On Sunday, Musk accused protesters, without offering any evidence, that
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
