“We Had to Eat Like Dogs”: Abuse in US Immigration Prisons
HAVANA TIMES — A group of handcuffed men stare at the plates of food placed on chairs. They cannot use their hands. To avoid starving, they bend down to the floor and eat with their mouths, like dogs. This scene didn’t happen in a movie, but at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, where several immigrants have denounced humiliating treatment and inhumane conditions that made them believe their lives were over.
The most recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), together with Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South, reveals a devastating situation in three detention centers in South Florida: Krome, FDC Miami, and the Broward Transitional Center (BTC).
Based on interviews with 17 detainees, family members, lawyers, and a review of data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the 92-page document denounces a systematic pattern of abuse and negligence.
The report highlights that the conditions in intake areas are especially cruel. Immigrants reported being held for 48 hours in tight lines, without access to drinking water, food, or functioning bathrooms. In many cases, men and women were processed together in these spaces and forced to endure degrading situations (such as defecating in front of other detainees, without blankets or basic hygiene).
Detainees report that, after being processed, the areas they are taken to within the centers are kept at freezing temperatures, with permanent lighting that prevents sleep, and a lack of ventilation. Spaces designed for six people hold up to 40.
Immigrants sleep on concrete floors without sheets, surrounded by mosquitoes and humidity, while the bathrooms overflow due to lack of maintenance. These extreme conditions increase people’s desperation and physical deterioration, compounding their vulnerability from their first contact with the detention system.
Food is another critical issue. Family members and detainees have reported that the food provided is in poor condition, even rotten, which has led to cases of malnutrition and a constant feeling of hunger.
A separate chapter is dedicated to the center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” a recently opened facility in the Everglades, though not directly evaluated by HRW. Independent sources and legislators who have visited the site report atrocious conditions: lack of water, mosquito infestations, inadequate bathrooms, and insufficient or spoiled food.
Authorities deny this description of the site, but the complaints point to a detention center that follows the same pattern of abuse and dehumanization.
According to the report, those who dare to protest are punished with prolonged solitary confinement or sudden transfers that separate them from their lawyers and families. Medical care is nearly nonexistent, even for those with chronic illnesses. Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died after suffering a medical emergency that was ignored by Krome guards. “We screamed for help, but the officers didn’t move,” said a witness interviewed by HRW.
Maksym Chernyak, a Ukrainian detainee at BTC, was taken to the hospital too late. For several days he reported severe pain and fever but was ignored until he collapsed. He was diagnosed with irreversible brain damage and died a few days later.
Since January 2025, following Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency, detentions in Florida have increased by 111%. Seventy-two percent of detainees have no criminal record but are held in these private and public facilities under a regime that HRW describes as “inhumane and degrading.” Nationwide, the daily average of detained migrants exceeds 56,000 people.
The report not only documents abuses but also demands urgent action:
- Prohibit financial incentives for private companies managing the centers.
- Guarantee immediate medical and psychological care.
- Eliminate the use of solitary confinement as punishment.
- Ensure legal access from the first day of detention.
- Promote community-based alternatives to mass detention.
The Department of Homeland Security has rejected the accusations and claims that the centers meet federal standards. However, the testimonies saying otherwise continue to pile up.
HRW warns that these practices are not isolated incidents, but a reflection of a system designed to break the will of immigrants. “These are not anomalies, but the result of a failed and cruel policy,” said Belkis Wille, associate director for Crisis and Conflict at HRW.
First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.