Many South Florida immigrants fear President Donald Trump鈥檚 deportation policy. One reason: the facilities where they will likely be detained have been buffeted by decades of documented violence, sexual abuse and human rights violations.
Trump promised 鈥渕illions and millions鈥� of deportations during his .
Though the reality of the task 鈥� and numerous legal challenges 鈥� have made those numbers seem perhaps overly ambitious, Trump鈥檚 goals have raised two important questions:
Where will they be held? And under what conditions?
The answer to question one is clear. There are four places in South Florida and the Caribbean where tens of thousands of immigrants have been held since the Mariel boatlift in 1980.
The first of these is the Krome detention center, which opened . suggest the facility is massively overcrowded at triple its capacity of about 500.
Krome鈥檚 leaders have also hidden dangerous conditions from a U.S. congressional delegation and mistreated female detainees. Two men have died there this year. And that鈥檚 just the start.
Then there's the Broward Transitional Center (BTC) in Pompano Beach, which, back in 2002, was promoted as a new for civil detention. But it has faced complaints of rape, shackling medical patients and suicide attempts. One person has died there this year and an is underway.
The Glades County Detention Center was built in 2007 west of Lake Okeechobee. It stopped taking in migrants in 2022 due to claims of everything 鈥渇rom pervasive sexual and medical misconduct to unlawful overuse of toxic chemicals,鈥� according to the , but then reopened in .
Finally, there is Guantanamo Bay, where around 500 immigrants have been sent since . Its history of torture and abuse of foreign combatants is legendary. And costs so far have been stratospheric.
鈥淚f these were commercial facilities for animals,鈥� Denise Noonan Slavin, the senior adviser to Americans for Immigrant Justice (AIJ), an advocacy group. 鈥淭hey would shut them down for health and sanitation violations.鈥�
What follows are descriptions of these places鈥� long and startling history of alleged abuse.
Krome
The Krome detention center was transformed from a Cold War base after and headed for South Florida鈥檚 shores.
Overcrowding has been chronic there since immigration authorities tried to deceive congressional fact-finders back in 1995 by quickly releasing 鈥� some without 226.
Aby 157 detainees described conditions this way: 鈥淭here are no urinals (for men) as the building that houses us was built to accommodate approximately 130 women, and now holds over 300 men, some of which, have to sleep in hallways, walkways and entrance ways, on cots (not beds).鈥�
An by a nonprofit alleged women were coerced into sexual acts. That August, INS guard Lemar Smith was indicted on of sexually assaulting a Mexican transsexual woman.
鈥淗e put his hand on my neck,鈥� .鈥淗eld me against the wall and raped me鈥� I鈥檓 never going to forget that.鈥�
READ MORE: Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz finds 'incredibly disturbing' conditions at Krome
Smith was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2001. were reassigned before all who remained were moved to a county jail.
Though the place wastwo men have inside Krome since Trump took office this year: Genry Ruiz-Guillen, 29, and Maksym Chernyak, 44.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department declared both died of 鈥渘atural鈥� causes, but the reported that experts are concerned with how their cases were handled.
Ruiz-Guillen, who is from Honduras, perished on Jan. 23. Experts say his official cause of death 鈥� 鈥渃omplications of schizoaffective disorder鈥� 鈥� is inadequate, as that generally does not result in someone passing away.
Meanwhile, staff reportedly took 45 minutes to call 9-1-1 after Chernyak, a Ukrainian, began experiencing 鈥渟eizure-like activity.鈥� He suffered irreparable brain damage and died on Feb. 20.
In March, reported the experiences of four women held at the facility. The newspaper said they were allegedly chained on a bus and told by guards to urinate or defecate on the floor. At Krome, they were placed in crowded holding cells and barely had access to food or water.
In April, Americans for Immigrant Justice submitted a to the United Nations Human Rights Council alleging 鈥渢orture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detained persons,鈥� including shackling, disgusting sanitary conditions and isolation. The group a detainee who said they 鈥渉ad to take turns sleeping, with some men lying down and some standing, because there wasn鈥檛 enough room for us to all lie down.鈥�
U.S Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from Miami, toured the Krome Detention Center in late April and said that a 鈥渢ent city鈥� was under construction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to get worse,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very time this facility gets crowded, in order to stay in compliance, they鈥檙e going to have to build another one.鈥�
In late May, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, made a surprise visit to Krome and told reporters afterwards that what she saw there was 鈥渋ncredibly disturbing.鈥�
鈥淭here's no one in your family that you would ever want to be here鈥� because you wouldn't want anyone that you care about to be in the conditions that these people are being held in,鈥� she said.
Broward
The Broward Transitional Center (BTC) has fewer complaints than South Florida鈥檚 other facilities, but they are nevertheless horrifying. In 2012, a man who needed treatment after being raped was sent to the hospital shackled in a van. Around the same time, women complained of guards鈥� poor response to potentially suicidal residents.
The center opened in 2002 with 530 beds and expanded in 2009 to 700. After Krome made national headlines, Broward was promoted as the new 鈥渕辞诲别濒鈥� for detention. The GEO Group, a private prison corporation, is paid more than $20 million annually to run it, according to a from Americans for Immigrant Justice.
Though it is generally for immigrants who have, dozens of problems have been reported in the last 15 years. In fact, three detainees attempted suicide there in 2011, according to a .
A female detainee told of another woman in 2011 who was 鈥渃rying all the time and refusing to eat because she had been separated from her husband.鈥� The woman said that she and a group of detainees sent a letter of concern to officials out of fear that she was also suicidal.
An immigration officer allegedly responded by saying they 鈥渉ad broken the rules by sending a group letter.鈥�
鈥淭hey make me feel like I am not a person," said the detainee. 鈥淎nd they treat us like we are animals.鈥�
AIJ also reported that a father named Enrique was raped inside a facility bathroom in the summer of 2012. He needed medical attention, but the staff didn鈥檛 call an ambulance. Instead, he was 鈥渟hackled, stuffed into a van.鈥�
鈥淭hey put handcuffs on me and cuffed my feet and brought me to the hospital,鈥� said Enrique. 鈥淚t was excruciating.鈥�
READ MORE: South Florida lawmakers condemn Trump administration for 'inhumane' conditions at ICE facility
According to a 2019 report from , poor dental care has caused numerous immigrants severe pain in Broward. One of them, Antonio R, 鈥渄escribed having such a severe infection in his molar that not only did he have to skip meals, but his vision was impaired.鈥� After begging for medical help, 鈥渉e was given ibuprofen and sent back to his pod,鈥� the report said.
It also noted that a gay detainee endured 鈥渞elentless anti-gay harassment鈥� that led him to attempt suicide.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 worse, this or death,鈥� he said.
Haitian detainee Marie Ange Blaise, 44, in BTC on April 25. ICE hasn鈥檛 released much information, but the reported that another unnamed detainee said Blaise had complained about chest pains and was told to take some pills and lie down.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Miramar, who toured the facility in early May with Congresswoman Wilson, said that she was "disappointed with what I saw and what I heard."
鈥淚 failed to see any evidence that there were proper procedures in place and that adequate health care was provided," she said. "One single doctor to care for hundreds of detainees 鈥� with some being forced to sleep on the floor 鈥� is inhumane.鈥�
Glades
South Florida鈥檚 most controversial facility is the Glades County Detention Center, located west of Lake Okeechobee. It was opened in 2007 and temporarily halted immigrant operations in 2022 following complaints from Congress and advocacy groups. In April, the federal government released a that the facility would begin housing migrants again.
The center was built for 440 beds, but the statement said up to 500 additional beds would be allocated.
Before the 2022 closure, some detainees were kept in their cells for about 23 hours a day 鈥� one was placed in a straitjacket for nearly a day. There were also claims of medical malpractice.
There were also concerns about medical neglect.
In 2019, detainee Karamjit Singh claimed that after telling an officer he was depressed, he was put on suicide watch, stripped naked and placed in a Velcro straitjacket for 17 to 20 hours, according to .
鈥淚t's like a modern-day concentration camp,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 experiencing psychological torture.鈥�
These complaints were exacerbated when COVID-19 spread through the facility. Mexican detainee Onoval Perez-Montufar inside Glades after 鈥渉e made it known he had medical conditions qualifying him for release鈥� but ICE refused to release him.鈥�
A complaint filed by seven female detainees in August 2021 alleged that guards had watched them shower, while the facility鈥檚 sole psychiatrist abused his position to sexually harass women.
A month later, reported immigration officers were using a toxic chemical spray at levels considered illegal by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Haitian detainee Jean Cleophat, who suffered from asthma, said the spray harmed him.
鈥淚鈥檒l be waking up sweating,鈥� said Cleophat. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe. I feel dizzy.鈥�
In February 2022, 17 congressional members signed ato then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging Glades鈥� closure. In late March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred all detainees out.
After the Trump Administration announced in April that it would reopen to immigrants, attorney Katie Blankenship told the : 鈥淚CE knows that Glades is unsafe for people. This is a level of inhumane treatment that the government has to be held accountable for.鈥�
Guantanamo
The U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay is a bellwether for the diminishing ambitions of the Trump administration to round up and deport immigrants.
A year ago, the president was threatening to deport immigrants, now numbers seem far smaller. In Guantanamo, the president suggested he would send 30,000 immigrants, but three months later, some immigration officials said the number would be much less.
In the operation鈥檚 first month, mostly in February, the federal government spent $40 million, reported.
But so far, the base has held 497 migrants. Scores of tents were put up to house the many migrants that were expected, but the reported that none have been occupied. Now some are being taken down. No one has stayed in them. Total cost for just that piece: $3 million.
In early May, the government said the camp housed 32 migrants awaiting deportation and had about 725 staff members including Army and Marine forces as well as 100 people employed by ICE as security officers or contractors. 鈥淭hat is more than 22 uniformed military and ICE workers for each migrant,鈥� the Times reported.
Guantanamo is also facing legal backlash. A federal court is investigating two military flights that may have sent Venezuelans from Guantanamo to El Salvador in defiance of a court order. And an court filing by two former Nicaraguan detainees alleges 鈥渆xtreme fear and intimidation鈥� that obstruct due process. The lawsuit says attorneys are not allowed physical meetings with clients. Instead, they are chained during legal calls, which are on speaker with an officer nearby.
concludes that sending immigrants to Guantanamo 鈥渋s not only illegal and unprecedented but illogical given the additional cost and logistical complications.鈥�
Then he added: 鈥淯ltimately this is about theatrics.鈥�
The story was originally published by Caplin News, a publication of FIU's Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media, as part of an editorial content partnership with the SA国际传谋 newsroom.
