Asiye Latife Yilmaz
22 July 2025•Update: 22 July 2025
ISTANBUL
Immigrants held in federal detention centers in Florida are subjected to inhumane conditions, including abuse, medical neglect, and severe overcrowding, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday.
The report documents migrants’ accounts of life inside three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, describing overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, degrading treatment, and inadequate access to medical care.
HRW researchers interviewed current and former detainees, their families, and immigration lawyers, and reviewed ICE data and official documents to compile the findings.
Detainees reported being kept in freezing, overcrowded cells without bedding, denied hygiene supplies, and shackled for prolonged periods during transport without justification.
Across the three facilities, detainees said they were denied necessary care for chronic conditions, while women faced a lack of gender-appropriate care and privacy. At least two deaths in custody may have been linked to medical neglect, the report noted.
“These conditions violate human rights protections and ICE’s own detention standards,” HRW said, adding that both ICE and its contractors are failing to meet even the minimum standards for humane treatment, medical care, and prevention of abuse.
The group called on ICE, its contractors, and local governments to limit immigration detention to a “last resort” and expand rights-respecting alternatives to detention.
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has intensified immigration crackdowns, increasing both detention and deportations as part of its enforcement agenda.
