Miami's ICE Detention Center Holding Twice Its Capacity Amid Crackdown, Detainees Subjected to Inhumane Conditions: Report

Miami's Krome North Processing Detention Center is currently holding more than double its capacity, with detainees enduring poor and overcrowded conditions, according to reports by several news outlets in the last few days. This situation is exacerbated by the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies, which have led to a surge in detention numbers across the U.S.

The Krome center, originally designed for 600 detainees, has seen upwards of 1,200 individuals in recent months, according to a report by Axios. "A lot of people are just signing orders to be removed, because the conditions are so horrible," said Paul Chavez, director of the litigation program at Americans for Immigrant Justice, to the news outlet.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) maintains that the overcrowding is a temporary issue and claims it is working to alleviate the problem through transfers and expedited case processing. However, detainee accounts reported by Axios, reflect a more dire picture, with some detainees facing days without a shower, living in cramped spaces, and lacking basic necessities.

In addition to overcrowding, detainees have reported instances of inadequate medical care, poor hygiene, and abusive treatment. One woman, who spoke to USA TODAY under the condition of anonymity, recounted being chained to other detainees and transported for hours without food or water.

She and others described being forced to urinate on the floor due to a lack of access to restrooms. "We smelled worse than animals," one woman said, describing their conditions as being "like sardines in a jar." The accounts paint a troubling image of an understaffed facility that is struggling to handle a growing detainee population.

These reports follow the deaths of three men at the center since October, highlighting concerns about the facility's ability to provide adequate care. While ICE officials claim the agency is committed to humane treatment, investigations into the detention center's operations have repeatedly found issues with meeting detention standards.

A Homeland Security report from 2023 revealed that ICE and its contractors had struggled with meeting standards across multiple facilities, including Krome.

Despite these allegations, ICE has yet to substantiate specific claims made by detainees, with a spokesperson for the agency telling Axios that these incidents were not in line with ICE's policies or standards of care. This increase in detention capacity has led to overcrowded facilities nationwide, with the total number of detainees held in ICE custody surpassing the agency's 41,500-bed capacity in March.