In a demonstration meant for an aerial view, a group of migrant detainees stood in an “SOS” formation on Thursday in western Miami-Dade County, near the Florida Everglades.
The detainees in the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Krome North Service Processing Center, also spelled out “Libre,” Spanish for “Freedom.”
The white-clad group of men participated in the carefully organized demonstration near a group of guards at about 10:20 a.m., while at a fenced basketball court in the center at 18201 SW 12 St.
There was a group of orange-clad men nearby at another fenced court who were standing together during the demonstration at the facility, also known as the Krome Detention Center, which holds migrant detainees with and without criminal records.
After President Donald Trump’s push for deportations started in January, Krome detainees reported the crowded conditions had forced some of them to sleep on the concrete floor and endure hunger and thirst.
Federal officials reported two Krome detainees died while in ICE custody this year: Genry Ruiz Guillen, 23, of Honduras, a Hillsborough County domestic violence suspect, on Jan. 23 and Maksym Chernyak, 44, of Ukraine, a Broward County battery suspect, on Feb. 20.
Trump’s pressure for an increase in detentions comes while Krome was not meeting all of the federal standards last year under former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to a report on unannounced inspections.
Last year, the federal government awarded the Virginia-based Akima Infrastructure Protection, or AIP, a $685.4 million contract to support the “Enforcement and Removal Operations” ICE program at Krome.
This is a developing story.
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