A harrowing report titled “You Feel Like Your Life is Over” exposes inhumane treatment of undocumented migrants across three overcrowded immigration detention centers in Florida since January 2025.
At the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, women were forced to use toilets in view of male detainees, denied access to showers, proper food, and gender-appropriate medical care. Overcrowding led to detainees being confined in parked buses for over 24 hours, where a clogged toilet created unbearable conditions. Men and women, shackled and packed together, were only released briefly to relieve themselves.
Conditions were equally degrading inside. Detainees described being forced to kneel and eat with hands tied, likening it to being treated “like animals.” At one facility, individuals were detained for up to 12 days in cold rooms without bedding or warm clothes, nicknamed “la hielera” (ice box) for their freezing temperatures.
Medical negligence was rampant. At the Broward Transitional Center, 44-year-old Marie Ange Blaise died due to delayed medical response. Witnesses claimed guards ignored cries for help as Blaise suffered a seizure-like episode. By the time emergency services arrived, she was unresponsive.
Authorities had hastily set up “Alligator Alcatraz”, a detention complex in the Everglades, to manage overflow — yet these efforts failed to preserve human dignity.
The revelations underscore urgent calls for accountability and reform in U.S. immigration detention practices.