MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A group of white-clad men in a federal detention center’s outdoor basketball court, near the Florida Everglades, formed a human “SOS” distress signal next to a “Libre” in yellow for “Free” in Spanish.
News stations’ helicopters recorded the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, some who were on their knees, Thursday at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County.
6 p.m. report:
Nestor Y. Iglesias, a spokesman for ICE, released a written statement via e-mail, describing the demonstration as “a peaceful sit-in” without injuries or a need for use of force.
“At no point has Krome been under lockdown and administrative operations continue as scheduled,” Yglesias wrote.
The ICE detainees’ plea for help comes with an increase in witness reports about the deteriorating conditions that include hunger and sleeping on the floor as their attorneys struggle with the changing chain of custody.
After President Donald Trump’s orders for mass deportations, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security delegated some responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Justice.
ICE, which operates under DHS, has been holding detainees at The Federal Detention Center Miami, which the DOJ’s Federal Bureau of Prisons runs in a tall building in Downtown.
Witnesses, both ICE detainees’ relatives and BOP officers, have reported that conditions at FDC Miami have been deteriorating. The BOP reported there was a tuberculosis case at FDC Miami in May.
Trump’s national emergency declaration in January directed the U.S. Department of Defense to help support DHS, which also oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s unclear if ICE or CBP have detainees at U.S. military installations in Florida.
ICE “is committed to ensuring that all those in the agency’s custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments under appropriate conditions of confinement,” Yglesias wrote.