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The United States has the largest immigration incarceration system in the world. Immigrant incarceration, known euphemistically as 鈥渋mmigrant detention,鈥� is a system in which noncitizens are detained in prison-like settings while they wait for deportation or for the immigration court to decide their cases. Despite the United States having the world鈥檚 largest immigrant incarceration system, it remains largely invisible to the public.

The nature and scale of immigrant detention today is a relatively new phenomenon. The first detention center in the United States, Ellis Island Immigration Station, opened in 1892 and held new immigrants between a few days and several weeks.¹听In 1893, Congress passed the first law requiring the detention of anyone not entitled to admission into the United States.²听Three years later, the Supreme Court concluded in听Wong Wing v. United States听that immigrants could be detained for the purpose of forcible removal from the country.³

While it may seem inconceivable now, the United States largely did not detain immigrants in the past. In 1954, the attorney general announced that in 鈥渁ll but a few cases,鈥� those whose removal was pending would no longer be detained.⁴听That same year, Ellis Island closed.⁵听From 1952 to 1983, only about 30 people nationwide were in immigrant detention on any given day.⁶听In the 1980s, the Reagan administration embraced concepts of enforcement, detention, and deportation, which set the tone for every administration thereafter.⁷

Immigrant incarceration as we know it today really began in 1996. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act enacted that year fundamentally reshaped immigration policy. They established mandatory detention, created programs entangling police with deportation efforts, and expanded categories of crimes for which noncitizens can be detained and removed. As a result, the average daily population (ADP) of noncitizen detained individuals nearly tripled from 1995 to 2001.⁸听It has only grown since.

Immigrant incarceration today

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged with enforcement and the operation of immigrant detention facilities that are, in effect, punitive. Most detention facilities are repurposed prisons, and many are situated in actual jails and operated by local sheriffs; others may be operated by private prison corporations.

This is antithetical to the idea of 鈥渃ivil鈥� detention, which should not be punitive. By choosing to detain immigrants, ICE has the legal obligation to adequately care for them by providing necessities like food, shelter, clothing, toiletries, recreation, access to information to fight their immigration cases, contact with loved ones and attorneys, and medical and mental health care. Immigrants in detention, however, are routinely denied many of these basic rights.

Immigrant incarceration is, in many ways, indistinguishable from prison. This includes wearing prison uniforms, going outside only if and when the facility permits, and enduring up to four 鈥渃ounts鈥� per day, when all movement in the facility is frozen so authorities can count the detained individuals.

Those detained report feeling stripped of any sense of personhood or agency, having to follow strict protocols. 鈥淭here is no freedom here,鈥� says Joseph H. who expresses frustration about being locked away in segregation for nearly 24 hours a day.⁹

For those in active removal proceedings, court takes place inside the detention facility, either in person or via video-teleconferencing. The Department of Justice鈥檚 Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) operates an administrative court system under the authority of the Office of the Attorney General. Unlike criminal courts, those in immigration court have no right to an attorney provided by the government and can have one only if they can afford to pay for one on their own.¹⁰

The length of time spent in detention varies widely. Currently, the average length of stay for detained immigrants is a little over 54.7 days.¹¹

Immigration detention standards

ICE has a patchwork of standards governing the conditions of confinement in immigrant detention, which are based on jail and prison standards. They govern matters such as the provision of medical care, use of force, and protection against sexual assaults.

It is often difficult to determine what standards apply to any particular facility. Currently, ICE has three different sets of standards: the 2000 National Detention Standards and the 2008 and 2011 Performance Based National Detention Standards.

ICE鈥檚 standards are not codified in law. Instead, the facilities are contractually obligated to follow whichever ICE detention standards are listed in their contracts.听However, only 65 percent of detention facilities have one of these three standards in their contracts.¹² In the South Florida facilities, Glades County Detention Center (Glades) still applies the 2000 standards, and Monroe County Detention Center (Monroe) uses the 2008 standards. Only Krome Service Processing Center (Krome) and Broward Transitional Center (Broward) operate under the most recent detention standards.

ICE currently uses two methods to inspect its detention facilities. It pays a private company, the Nakamoto Group, and relies on its Office of Detention Oversight. In addition, ICE has a Detention Monitoring Program for ICE staff onsite at detention facilities to monitor compliance with detention standards.听These oversight mechanisms, however, are little more than a checked box. The DHS's Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently found that none of the mechanisms ICE employs to oversee its facilities adequately correct systemic deficiencies or ensure consistent compliance with detention standards.¹³

The lack of transparency and accountability allows substandard facilities to continue operating with impunity. ICE rarely uses financial penalties or legal mechanisms to ensure a facility鈥檚 compliance with its standards.¹⁴ Instead, ICE routinely issues waivers to facilities with inadequate conditions, effectively undermining the standards. And in the case of a facility managed by a private prison company, potentially allowing a possible contract violation by the company.¹⁵

ICE鈥檚 waiver process has no formal procedures.¹⁶ DHS鈥� Office of Inspector General analyzed the 68 waiver requests from September 2016 to July 2018 and found that ICE approved 96 percent of them, including waivers for safety and security standards.¹⁷

Monroe Detention Center, image from Google Maps

Financial Incentives in Immigrant Detention

The harms of prison privatization are widely known. These harms are magnified in immigrant detention, where private prison companies operate most immigrant detention facilities. In November 2017, over 71 percent of detained individuals were held in private prisons owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.¹⁸

Not only do private prison corporations profit off incarceration, they have influenced immigration policy by spending millions on campaign contributions and lobbying to expand incarceration and enforcement, particularly after the Obama administration announced听听in August 2016 it would scale back the use of private prisons.¹⁹

Just months after the announcement, however, Donald Trump was elected president and the stocks for both CoreCivic and GEO skyrocketed, reviving a shrinking industry.²⁰ In 2017, the year the Trump administration reversed the decision to phase out federal contracts with private prisons, GEO spent $1.7 million on lobbying 鈥� over 70 percent more than the previous year. It also moved its annual conference to the Trump National Doral Golf Club near Miami.²¹

Contracts with private companies can encourage ICE to fill empty detention beds. A prime example is guaranteed minimums in ICE contracts 鈥� provisions that obligate ICE to pay for a minimum number of immigration detention beds at specific facilities and incentivize the agency to fill those beds.²²

Private companies, in addition to operating their own facilities, often manage contracts, provide services, or otherwise support publicly owned facilities. They may provide telephone, food, and medical services, to name a few. In South Florida, one of the four facilities, Broward, is owned by GEO. The other three facilities 鈥� Krome, Monroe and Glades 鈥� are publicly owned but rely heavily on private correctional services.

Growing numbers of people in detention

The number of people incarcerated by ICE hit a record high in 2018 and seemingly hits a new peak every year.²³ The amount the federal government spends on immigration enforcement exceeds funding for all principal federal law enforcement agencies combined.²⁴ ICE detained over 55,000 people in August 2019, despite Congress authorizing funds for only 45,000 detention beds.²⁵ This is up from 38,000 beds in 2017.

There is no indication that ICE鈥檚 expanding appetite for incarceration will stop anytime soon 鈥撎�听the agency is currently seeking funding for 54,000 beds.²⁶ In fiscal year 2018, 396,448 people were booked into ICE custody, a 22.5 percent increase from the year before.²⁷

Entering ICE custody

People enter ICE custody in different ways.听听One of the most common is through an ICE detainer, also known as an ICE hold. Detainers are ICE-issued requests to local law enforcement to not release 鈥� or 鈥渉old鈥� 鈥� an individual after completing the terms of that person鈥檚 arrest because ICE believes the arrested individual may be deportable.

In 2018, ICE鈥檚 Miami field office had the fastest growth in arrests for the second year in a row.²⁸ The vast majority of ICE detainers are issued for people charged with low-level infractions, including many for traffic offenses.²⁹ Importantly, detainers come at a substantial cost and risk of legal liability to the localities that enforce them. Police enforcing ICE detainers are detaining people without probable cause that they committed crimes, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. ICE also does not subsidize the costs of the extended detention.³⁰ In 2017, for example, Miami-Dade County鈥檚 complicity with ICE detainers cost taxpayers $12.5 million, despite Mayor Carlos Gimenez鈥檚 claim that complying with detainers would save the county money.³¹ The county is on track to spend $13.6 million annually on enforcing ICE detainers.³²

Immigration and local law enforcement

Local police are entangled in the enforcement of federal immigration law through a number of programs in Florida, all of which are deeply problematic. They raise constitutional questions, foster racial profiling, create unfunded mandates, and chill immigrant communities from reaching out to local law enforcement to report actual crimes.

SB 168听鈥� In June 2019, Florida enacted Senate Bill 168 (SB 168), banning sanctuary cities in Florida. SB 168 requires state and local governments and law enforcement agencies to assist federal officials in enforcing immigration laws, including honoring ICE detainers.³³ The law is currently being challenged in court as unconstitutional.³⁴ It has also been criticized for its devastating impact on immigrant communities and law enforcement resources in Florida.

Secure Communities听鈥� Under this program individuals who are arrested have their fingerprints sent to ICE, which issues detainers requesting the locality hold certain people. Billed as a program targeting only the worst of the worst, it has a history of sweeping up people with minor offenses and exposing localities to lawsuits.

Basic Ordering Agreements听鈥� In 2018, ICE devised the use of Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), a supply order form from the federal government, to order immigrants in detention from local jails in an attempt to convert detention in the jail into ICE detention and somehow circumvent the constitutional requirement that police have probable cause that a person has committed a crime before detaining the individual.³⁵ ICE rolled them out in Florida, where, as of August 2019, 46 counties 鈥� including Monroe County 鈥揾ave BOAs. But they are no shield for liability. The Monroe County sheriff is embroiled in a lawsuit by a U.S. citizen wrongfully detained and nearly deported despite the sheriff鈥檚 use of a BOA.³⁶

287(驳)听鈥� Under this program, local law enforcement are deputized to enforce federal immigration law. Five counties in Florida have 287(g) jail enforcement agreements in place,³⁷ and the Florida Department of Corrections has also applied for one.³⁸ In practice, these agreements have promoted racial profiling. They also have undermined law enforcement鈥檚 ability to solve crimes by discouraging immigrants from reaching out to the police and cost localities millions not reimbursed by ICE.

Warrant Service Officer Program听鈥� In May 2019, ICE launched the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program, which enables deputies to serve administrative warrants and arrest immigrants on ICE鈥檚 behalf after eight hours of training.³⁹ As of August 2019, 57 counties in Florida participate in the WSO program,⁴⁰ which is basically 287(g)-lite and suffers from the same problems.

Types of detention facilities and contracts

Aside from its entanglements with local law enforcement, ICE also apprehends people through immigration raids, at the airport after Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) denies admission, outside of courthouses, at probation appointments, on buses, in workplaces, and seemingly random arrests in public.

ICE uses three types of facilities to detain adults. It owns facilities, called service processing centers (SPCs). ICE also contracts with private companies that own and operate privately owned facilities, called contract detention facilities (CDFs). In addition, ICE uses inter-governmental service agreements (IGSAs) to contract with local jails and state prisons 鈥� whether operated by public entities or by private prison companies 鈥� to detain noncitizens. Some IGSA facilities hold only individuals detained by ICE while others also hold people in criminal custody. Although an IGSA facility itself is publicly owned, many of these local and state-run facilities subcontract services, such as telephone, medical, and commissary services, to private companies.

South Florida has all three types of facilities. Krome is an ICE-owned facility. Broward is a contract detention facility owned and operated by GEO, ICE鈥檚 largest contractor. GEO holds more than $400 million in contracts with ICE.⁴¹ Monroe and Glades are both county jails that have IGSAs with ICE.

Immigrant Detention is Prison

There is virtually no difference between conditions of confinement for those detained by ICE and individuals in criminal custody. Despite immigration detention ostensibly being civil detention and subject to different legal standards and protections than criminal custody, detained individuals are placed in identical environments 鈥� often in the same facility.

A 2016 report by DHS鈥檚 Homeland Security Advisory Council recognized that ICE has not sufficiently created a civil model, which is meant to have 鈥済reater freedom of movement, expanded opportunities to retain personal property including clothing, enhanced recreational opportunities,鈥�⁴² among other distinctions. None of those characteristics are present in any of the South Florida detention facilities.

For jails and private prisons, the same contractors who manage immigrant detention facilities also manage the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities and state prisons, further blurring the already murky distinction between civil detention and criminal punishment. Detention facilities often have the same guards, the same protocols, the same types of housing, and the same sorts of programming found in prisons.

Like those in prison for criminal offenses, thousands of individuals detained by ICE are subject to segregation each year, often for arbitrary reasons, using the same disciplinary scale as the BOP.听听In Monroe, for example, Ron W. was sent to segregation for whistling, and Carlos G. was locked in his cell for protesting staff mistreatment of detained individuals.⁴³

It is much the same situation in county jails, where detained individuals and those with criminal charges are both designated as 鈥渋nmates鈥� and housed together in the same dorms.听听At Glades, for example, the facility does not even use a detained person鈥檚 Alien Registration Number, but instead uses the jail number, similar to those in criminal custody. Those detained by ICE are also forced to wear uniforms 鈥� similar to those worn by the prisoners facing criminal charges 鈥� regardless of the nature of their custody. At Glades, for example, guards are often unable to differentiate between detained individuals and prisoners with criminal charges.

In other words, while different under the law, both ICE detention and criminal custody are effectively the same in practice 鈥� except those detained by ICE have fewer听legal protections.

Krome Service Processing Cener, Miami, FLA.

Krome Service Processing Center was originally built in 1965 as a Cold War-era air defense base.¹⁰¹ In 1980, thousands of Cubans, by way of the Mariel Boatlift, and Haitians fleeing the horrors of Jean-Claude Duvalier鈥檚 regime began to arrive on Florida鈥檚 shores.¹⁰² Krome was repurposed as a detention and refugee processing camp, comprising two tents housing 2,000 individuals 鈥� one for Haitians and the other for Cubans.¹⁰³ Kro尘别鈥檚 mistreatment of the people detained there, which included widespread abuse and sexual violence, was documented for decades.¹⁰⁴ Largely because of those findings, it was converted to a men-only facility in 2000.

ICE now maintains that Krome is a 鈥済old standard鈥� for detention facilities. It has six pods for general population, a medical unit, a segregation unit, and a transitional unit for those with 鈥渂ehavioral鈥� issues. Akima Global Services (AGS) is contracted through 2024 to handle the daily operations of the facility, including food services and funds processing for detained individuals. Included in this contract is a mandatory minimum of 450 occupied beds.¹⁰⁵ ICE Health Service Corps provides medical services.

Upon request, ICE was unable to provide the maximum capacity of the facility. According to the AGS website, Krome detains an average of 600 detained individuals. Since 2006, the population has fluctuated between 550 and 875 people.¹⁰⁶

The facility contains three courtrooms, six attorney-client (contact) visitation rooms, and 26 non-contact visitation booths. All non-legal visitation at Krome is noncontact to 鈥渕inimize contraband.鈥�¹⁰⁷ There are typically three judges who regularly hear cases at Krome. Judges at Krome hear cases of those detained in the facility and also cases from Glades and Monroe. Depending on the judge, the hearings for those detained in remote county jails can occur either through video teleconferencing or in person at Krome.

Within each of the six pods are 65 beds. Krome also has a 30-bed medical unit, of which 10 beds are reserved for people with mental health issues. The medical unit also includes an intensive care unit, an observation room, and a medical isolation unit. The facility has a 30-bed transitional unit that, per ICE, is the only one of its kind.

A detained person is subject to pat-downs if he or she goes anywhere inside the facility, such as walking from the pod to the dining hall. There is a segregation unit containing seven cells that can hold a total of 14 people. Krome also has recreation areas and a law library with 15 computers. People are allowed two hours a day in the library with a prior request and extensions on a case-by-case basis.

Overcrowding

A primary complaint at Krome is severe overcrowding. While individual pod capacity is supposed to be about 65, some detained individuals听 estimate there are 100 or more people in their pods, a level that, we were told by a detained person, feels 鈥渄angerously overcrowded.鈥�¹⁰⁸ In addition to approximately 65 beds in each pod, the facility has since added military-style cots, or 鈥渟tackable beds,鈥� between bunk beds, next to the phones, between chairs in the TV area, and even by the restrooms and in front of the showers. People interviewed for this report complained about back pain from sleeping on the cots, which lack mattresses or cushioning.

Individuals with physical disabilities often receive medical passes requiring them to be on a bottom bunk. Due to the severe overcrowding, individuals report fear that their passes will not be honored by detention staff. When Russell C. was sent to segregation for three days, he returned to his pod to learn that he lost his bottom bunk and would be forced to sleep in a temporary cot, despite using a wheelchair and having a bottom bunk medical pass.¹⁰⁹ When he alerted ICE staff, he was reportedly told no bottom bunks were available, and he would have to wait until one was vacant. As far as navigating the overcrowded pod with his wheelchair, Russell reports having to collapse his wheelchair and lean his body on the handlebars to maneuver the narrow spaces.

This overcrowding also means long wait times for basic things.

Understandably, with 100 people in a 65-person pod, tensions are high. Detained individuals report fights over phones, the restroom, and even a mirror. 鈥淭oo many people sleeping on the floor. Sometimes [we] have to watch our step to walk,鈥� Idris S. said of his detention at Krome.¹¹⁰ For Muslims, engaging in daily prayers is difficult due to the cots taking up space in the pod previously used to kneel for prayer.

Overcrowding also creates sanitation and health issues. Germs spread more easily and the pod is harder to keep clean. 鈥淭here are so many people and you can smell them,鈥� Joseph H., a man detained at Krome, said.¹¹¹

Access to Medical Care

ICE regards Krome as a model for medical care. Generally, when there is a person in a Florida facility who requires more extensive medical or mental health care, ICE transfers the individual to Krome. Despite this, people at Krome reportedly lack access to adequate medical care in part, because there are about 600 people detained there.

Many people told us that medical issues were not properly treated or not treated at all. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e sick, you suffer here because this is not designed to deal with the illnesses people come with,鈥� said Jesus R. 鈥淏ecause people are in the process of being deported, they neglect you because it鈥檚 likely you will leave within a few weeks.鈥�¹¹² He observed that medical treatment at Krome is 鈥減ainfully slow.鈥� He added: 鈥淚 [would] literally have to drop dead for them to react.鈥�

Santiago C., who had an untreated broken wrist, said he was only given ibuprofen for his pain, but no splint or cast to deal with the underlying injury.¹¹³ Juan T. had a kidney infection but went 20 days without antibiotics.¹¹⁴

Kro尘别鈥檚 most recent inspection in February 2019 found its medical care deficient, as procedures require that sick calls be addressed twice a day, but inspectors found that it took two to eight days at Krome to triage a sick call.¹¹⁵ That much time can be a death sentence for someone with an acute or emergent condition.

Access to mental health care

ICE boasts that the Krome Behavioral Health Unit (KBHU) is the only one of its kind. It is a 30-bed transitional unit which offers several group therapy sessions a day and other support to those not stable enough to be in general population, but do not need to be housed in the medical unit.

People in the KBHU generally appreciated the services there. Getting into the unit, however, is allegedly a challenge for those who need it most. Detained people told us placement in the unit was used as a bargaining chip. Suicide attempts or placement in solitary confinement reportedly disqualify a person for the KBHU, a significant issue for detained people since segregation is overused at Krome. Akhil A., for example, said that even though he was repeatedly told he would benefit from being in the KBHU, after segregation, he was told he no longer qualified.¹¹⁶ This situation appears to feed a vicious cycle 鈥�听 detained individuals not receiving adequate mental health care are put in segregation for behavior resulting from their mental health issues, and placement in segregation disqualifies them appropriate mental health care at the KBHU.

Outside of the KBHU, people reportedly receive therapy less frequently. At the time we spoke with Joseph H., he was on suicide watch because he threatened to harm himself.¹¹⁷ Suicide watch means being placed in a rubber-walled room in an anti-suicide smock. There are no windows, except for one on the door for staff to supervise individuals. But aside from being under suicide watch, Joseph said he was not receiving mental health treatment.

Broward Transitional Center, Pompano Beach, FLA.

The Broward Transitional Center, located in Pompano Beach, is operated by GEO. Broward first opened its doors in 2002, after being awarded an ICE contract to house level-one detained individuals (those considered noncriminal and low-security).¹¹⁹ These individuals, with no criminal history or only minor infractions, should not be detained at all.¹²⁰

Among them are teens transferred in shackles out of the Office of Refugee Resettlement鈥檚 custody at 18, pregnant mothers, the elderly, asylum-seekers, and those who are active parts of their communities in the U.S.听 Included in ICE鈥檚 contract with GEO is a mandatory minimum of 500 beds, meaning that ICE will be contractually obligated to pay GEO for 500 beds even if the population at Broward dips below 500.¹²¹

Broward is often referred to as a 鈥渕odel鈥� for immigrant detention centers, as its hotel layout allows for socialization during out-of-cell time. Immigrants in Broward are continually reminded by ICE officials and GEO staff how lucky they are to be there. As a result, many people at Broward say they do not submit sick calls and grievances, or otherwise call attention to themselves. However, as many detained individuals shared: 鈥淎unque la jaula sea de oro no deja de ser prisi贸n鈥� (although the cage is golden, it is still a prison). In this case, the golden cage is across from the Pompano Beach landfill.

Since its opening, Broward has steadily grown in population capacity from 150 detained women to 700 detained women and men.¹²² There was renewed attention to substandard conditions at Broward, including poor medical and mental health care and abuse of prosecutorial discretion, with the release of a 2019 documentary highlighting these problems.¹²³

Inadequate medical care

Deficiencies in medical care at Broward were documented years ago in a March 2012 inspection, including failures to transfer detained individuals to medical and mental health providers in a timely manner,¹²⁴ a problem that persists today.

Many people in detention reported having to endure weeks and months of pain before receiving proper outside medical care. Although Broward responds to sick calls within 48 hours, individuals must make multiple requests to actually receive medical care, often delaying necessary interventions. Several individuals told us they were triaged by a nurse within the 48-hour window but were sent back to their rooms with only aspirin. People in detention are triaged but further medical attention is allegedly not provided in a timely fashion. One person shared: 鈥淚 have to be on them all the time.鈥�

Some individuals reported excruciating oral pain for weeks, limiting their ability to eat or drink. For example, Lionel S. told us he endured pain in his molars and bleeding gums for three months.¹²⁵ After multiple sick calls, he was allegedly sent back to his room without dental care and instructed to buy mouthwash from the commissary 鈥� something out of his reach since he didn鈥檛 have any funds. He skipped every meal for a week because of dental pain. The only solution reportedly offered at Broward is extracting teeth that could otherwise be saved or receiving temporary fillings, which may fall out a few days later. What鈥檚 more, if he opted for an extraction, there is no follow-up treatment.

In another case, Raymond G. reportedly has been waiting over a month to see an orthopedic specialist for a sprained shoulder.¹²⁶ While he has been waiting, he has only received painkillers, which he has used up 鈥� leaving him with no treatment. He has resorted to doing stretches he devised himself to retain mobility. Another man, Jose T., said he is losing mobility in his right arm after not receiving necessary physical therapy for a year despite his pleas to GEO staff.¹²⁷

Other individuals who require outside medical care simply do not request it because they are concerned about the conditions they will endure for the medical appointment 鈥� leaving the facility requires being in three-point shackle restraints for hours with little or no food. For those with limited mobility or pain (physical or psychological), this process can exacerbate their conditions.

Inadequate mental health care

Detained individuals also reported a lack of mental health care in Broward. Many individuals were unaware that any mental health care was available. Broward currently has one English-speaking licensed social worker on staff who relies on translation services to address the needs of detained individuals, the majority of whom speak Spanish. Those who have used her services told us that over-the-phone translation therapy is ineffective as it does not capture the nuance of their communications to or from the social worker, resulting in little to no therapeutic relief.

Broward uses telemedicine for visits with psychiatrists, which is also inadequate, as it allegedly consists of 10-minute conversations about superficial issues through a screen, which hinders a therapeutic connection between doctor and patient and is mediated by an interpreter over the phone. Jose G. told us when he experienced his first suicidal thoughts at Broward, he asked for help and met with the licensed clinical social worker on staff.¹²⁸ Because the interpreter was on the phone, Jose could only get in a couple of words at a time. He found it hard to open up with the interpreter cutting him off to translate. Jose reported that he never returned to therapy again and has since relied on his own devices to keep his suicidality at bay.

Inadequate mental health care at Broward is especially troubling as the facility primarily incarcerates individuals seeking asylum, who fled persecution in their home countries. Immigration detention conditions often have the effect of compounding their trauma as they are reminiscent of the same conditions migrants are fleeing 鈥� food scarcity, restricted freedoms and violence. ¹²⁹

Luisa D. told us: 鈥淩egardless of where I end up, I think I鈥檓 going to need psychological help.鈥�¹³⁰ Florencio P., who is seeking asylum, says he is reminded of childhood trauma whenever detained individuals or guards raise their voices.¹³¹ At age seven and for years after, Florencio witnessed his father physically and verbally abusing his mother. He remembers yelling for help as a child. As more despair set in at that time, he began to experience suicidal ideation and symptoms of depression. When altercations occur at Broward, he reports that he begins to shake and holds back tears.

During a tour of Broward, we met Rodolfo V., who exhibited signs of suicidal ideation.¹³² After we flagged his case, ICE told us he would be seen by a mental health specialist immediately. The visit was only a 15 minute triage with a new dose of psychotropic medication. 鈥淢orale is killed here,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is no hope here.鈥� Rodolfo told us that although the telehealth psychiatrist asks about his case, he hates answering such questions, as he knows his problems are really because of Broward.

Because health care providers at Broward are GEO employees, there is an inherent conflict鈥攊ndividuals may be uncomfortable sharing intimate information about their well-being with the entity that is also the cause of so much of their suffering.

Insufficient water and food

Once a week at Broward, one person from each room will go without eating for over 12 hours to get cleaning supplies. The rotating cleaning schedule requires that a detained person stand in line for cleaning supplies, or risk getting the room reprimanded by detention staff for not cleaning. Because dinner is at 4 p.m. and breakfast is at 6 a.m., this means that on cleaning days, detained individuals must skip breakfast to clean and wait until lunch time for their next meals.

When Broward is at capacity, this schedule means 116 people out of 700 are going almost a full day without eating. Some Broward staff allegedly threaten detained people that failure to comply will result in transfer to another detention center. This is an ominous warning to individuals who are already being told to be grateful to be at Broward.

Access to drinking water is also limited. Broward provides no cups outside the dining hall. This forces people to purchase beverages from the commissary and save the container to pour water from the coolers available during recreation. Indigent people in detention rely on the charity of those with funds for these containers. Detained individuals are also limited to two 16-ounce bottles in their rooms; otherwise guards will confiscate all of their bottles and leave them with nothing to drink outside of the dining hall.

Unnecessary detention

As others have pointed out,¹³³ there is no legitimate reason that Broward should continue operating. ICE has the discretion to parole individuals or release them on bond or on their own recognizance in order 鈥渢o prioritize its resources, to detain and remove other individuals whom ICE deems to pose a greater risk to public safety or national security.鈥�¹³⁴

Because no one at Broward is subject to mandatory detention, every detained person should be eligible for parole or bond. As one detained person stated: 鈥淢y case is everyone鈥檚 case.鈥� Yet at Broward, ICE imprisons asylum-seekers and detained individuals with no violent criminal history and grants parole only with exorbitantly high bonds of $20,000 or $40,000 鈥� in the rare instance ICE grants a bond.

After ICE鈥檚 decision to detain, immigration judges can still grant bond at an amount above the statutory minimum of $1,500. Such bonds are often denied, with judges often citing a driving without a license infraction as a threat to public safety. Out of 200 men surveyed at Broward, 47 percent were denied bond at the discretion of the court. Those same people are being told by GEO staff and ICE guards how lucky they are to be at Broward, even though, had they been detained at Krome, their bond would likely have been set at a lower amount, typically less than $10,000.

Monroe County Detention Center, Key West, FLA.

Monroe County Detention Center is in Key West, the southernmost tip of Florida. Located approximately 116 miles from Miami, and with only one highway in and out of the Keys, Monroe County acknowledges it is 鈥渢ime consuming and difficult鈥� to get to the county.¹³⁸ The remote location serves to isolate the individuals detained by ICE there.

Monroe is a county jail with a capacity to detain 700 individuals. Since 1997, Monroe has had an inter-governmental service agreement, renting detention space to ICE to temporarily house ICE-detained individuals.¹³⁹ Under the IGSA, when a person finishes serving his or her time for local charges and an ICE detainer expires, the person is transferred within the jail into ICE custody.¹⁴⁰ With the agreement, Monroe currently 鈥渞ents out鈥� a pod to ICE that can hold up to 95 individuals, although Monroe can expand the amount of detention space for ICE.

Isolation of detained individuals

Because of Monroe鈥檚 remote location and policies, detained individuals are almost completely isolated from friends, family, and immigration attorneys. Even in the rare event that a loved one travels to Key West to speak with a detained person, that individual cannot have a face-to-face visit, but must speak by video teleconference. In its detention standards, ICE notes that visitation ensures that detained individuals maintain morale and ties to their families and community.¹⁴¹ This is difficult to do through a medium that eliminates human contact and charges exorbitant fees for a service that was once free.

Detained individuals who set up video 鈥渧isits鈥� with loved ones remotely must pay $9.95 for a 25-minute chat or else rely on phone calls. In the pod, there are five phones for more than 80 people, creating long lines for the phone and no privacy for phone calls. The Monroe County Sheriff鈥檚 Office earns a 68 percent commission on these calls.¹⁴² These video visits and phone calls are reportedly out of reach for many detained individuals, especially when they first arrive at the facility before family members can deposit money in their accounts.

There are no community visitation programs at Monroe. Legal services organizations do not regularly conduct legal orientation or 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� presentations there. The law library is bleak, with outdated resources most detained individuals cannot understand because of the language barrier. One detained person described the library as 鈥減eople fighting for their lives with terrible materials.鈥�

More restrictive confinement than people in county custody

At Monroe, people detained by ICE are incarcerated in a county jail, which holds people with criminal charges or convictions. Those detained by ICE are essentially treated the same way despite being held in 鈥渃ivil detention.鈥� The handbook provided to ICE detainees and people in county custody on criminal charges听 is the same and rarely distinguishes between them.

Junipero V., who was housed at Monroe and then Krome, emphasized that, unlike at Krome, which houses only people detained by ICE, the guards at Monroe do not understand the difference between detained people in ICE custody and those in county custody with criminal charges.¹⁴³ He felt his detention was essentially a criminal punishment. In several respects, including the trustee program and access to recreation, people held by ICE at Monroe face worse conditions than people being held by the county on criminal charges.

Trustee program

People in county custody participate in the 鈥渧oluntary work program,鈥� through which they earn $1 a day for commissary and phone calls. While the program is deeply problematic and exploitative,¹⁴⁴ people detained by ICE are allegedly paid even less for their work at Monroe. Detained people have a 鈥淭rustee鈥� program, under which some are 鈥渢rusted鈥� to perform custodial duties for no pay. Instead, a detained person explained to us, they may receive extra food or have their cells unlocked during lockdowns.¹⁴⁵

Inadequate recreation

Detained individuals鈥� recreation area is a rectangular courtyard adjacent to their housing unit. It is about a quarter of the size of a basketball court, with high walls and meshed wire overhead, allowing little sunlight inside. People in county custody have a comparable recreation area inside their pod, but also have access to a larger recreation area outside their pod, providing much more freedom of movement.

Because of the limited space in the ICE recreation area, not all people in ICE custody can use the recreation yard at the same time. The laundry exhaust fan also blows directly into this area making it a hot and uncomfortable environment for exercise. A man with asthma told us that in the recreation area, 鈥測our chest gets congested, you can鈥檛 breathe.鈥�

Difficult Transportation for court hearings

Court hearings do not take place in Monroe, not even by video teleconference. Individuals are sent 146 miles away to Krome for immigration hearings. Every time detained people are transported, they are handcuffed in three-point restraints. The trip from Monroe to Krome lasts at least three and a half hours, meaning that people spend this long drive tightly restrained with no food, water, or bathroom breaks.

When people are transported to Krome, they allegedly do not receive their medications. Magdeleno M.,¹⁴⁶ a diabetic who requires insulin twice a day, was reportedly transferred from Indian River County Jail on a detainer to Krome and then Monroe 鈥� a trip that lasted over 24 hours 鈥� without receiving a single dose of insulin.

Lack of disability accommodations

Monroe allegedly fails to provide necessary accommodations for individuals with mobility impairments. Carlos G., a man using a wheelchair after injuring his knee, had been at Monroe a month when we interviewed him.¹⁴⁷ His doctors previously told him that with physical therapy, he could regain mobility and eventually not need a wheelchair.

But ICE denied his request for physical therapy and has failed to provide adequate accommodations for his disability despite numerous grievances. He must use a shower with only a railing and no seat. It does not comport with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Meanwhile, Carlos must stand and hold onto the railing, bathing himself with one arm because his wheelchair does not fit in the shower. Carlos said he prays for his life every time he is in the shower.

Carlos also cannot use the recreation courtyard because it is too dangerous for him to be in such a restricted space filled with others trying to exercise. He was previously in a Florida Department of Corrections prison which he asserts was more observant of ADA requirements than Monroe.

Inadequate medical care

We heard from detained people that medical care at Monroe is woefully inadequate for individuals with chronic medical conditions.听 For example, Magdeleno¹⁴⁸ has severe diabetes but has not received a special diet. The doctor told him to request a special diet for his diabetes. However, when he made this request, the guards reportedly told him 鈥渢o eat what they give [him].鈥�

Magdeleno said he is sometimes so sick and weak from his illness that he cannot get out of bed for mealtimes and his food is given away. His blood sugar exceeds 400 鈥� a life-threatening level. He told us his teeth are breaking off from his diabetes, and he has been diagnosed with anemia since coming to Monroe. His current diet is unsustainable given his illness, and, as a result, his sugar levels will not go down. Magdeleno also requested a special mattress for excruciating back pain, another side effect of his diabetes. But he was told he would have to pay $20 a month if he wanted one. Magdeleno is deeply afraid that he will die at Monroe.

Inadequate mental health care

Monroe allegedly fails to provide proper medication or treatment to those with mental health needs, according to multiple detained individuals. One man, Ismail E., shared that he has bipolar disorder for which was receiving treatment before his detention. Since being at Monroe, he reports his treatment was cut off.¹⁴⁹

He had endured several weeks without his prescribed antidepressant medication at the time of his interview. In addition to his symptoms going untreated, he experienced an agonizing detox with no medical supervision. Ismail has repeatedly requested to see a mental health specialist to no avail. After a month without proper treatment, Ismail punched a table in frustration. His hand was injured and put in a cast.

Another detainee, Junipero, is HIV-positive and has a history of anxiety, attempted suicide, and depression.¹⁵⁰ He says he received no counseling for these mental health issues at Monroe, just psychotropic medication. Junipero鈥檚 symptoms are exacerbated by alleged homophobic comments from guards and other detained individuals.

He also said the guards tell him repeatedly that he will be deported soon 鈥� adding to his anxiety. After receiving disappointing news regarding his immigration proceedings while at Monroe, he had a nervous breakdown. He says his only thoughts were 鈥渢o die now or wait until the sickness consumes me.鈥� Reportedly, the facility鈥檚 response was to confine Junipero in a medical observation room with nothing but a green smock and a concrete slab for three days. He received no professional help. He was not taken to a hospital. Instead, he was isolated with his thoughts.

Other people detained at Monroe who were interviewed for this report recalled the death of Papi, another detained man whose story is recounted in this section.¹⁵¹ As people reported their issues obtaining care at Monroe, they said they鈥檙e still troubled by his death and the days leading up to it in December 2018, when his banging on the door and pleading for help were ignored.

Excessive force and misuse of segregation

Guards at Monroe reportedly abuse their power with some frequency to subdue detained people.听 Men in detention told us that when people are suicidal, guards resort to pepper spray, further traumatizing individuals. For example, Juan T. recounted guards attempting to convince him to leave protective custody and return to general population even though he had previously been sexually assaulted by other detained individuals.¹⁵² The guards ignored his pleas to stay in protective custody. Unable to face the risk of returning to the general population, Juan said he took a bed sheet and attempted to take his life by hanging. When guards discovered Juan鈥檚 attempt to take his life, they allegedly pepper-sprayed him and punched him in the face three times before taking him to a shower to hose him down.

In addition to these incidents, public records show that on any given day, 26 percent of individuals detained by ICE at Monroe are in segregation.¹⁵³ As this report has shown, solitary confinement is damaging. ICE states in the 2011 PBNDS that segregation should be a last resort.¹⁵⁴ Such precautions are belied by officers at Monroe telling us that detained individuals can be placed in segregation for 鈥渞efusing medication and mental issues.鈥�¹⁵⁵

Inadequate meals

People told us the food at Monroe is unpalatable. Two detained individuals reported losing over 20 pounds within a few of months of being at Monroe because they could not stomach the food. They noted the portions are tiny, the fruits and vegetables are often served icy or rotting, and the bread is stale.听 People said that they had to inspect their food for rat feces and bugs before eating, since the food was routinely contaminated. Given the inadequate 鈥� and often inedible 鈥� meals, people in detention at Monroe told us they must spend the little money they have to purchase food from the commissary.

Lack of religious accommodation

Detained individuals who are religious, particularly Muslims, report that they are commonly challenged about their faith by guards and threatened with losing religious freedom. Receiving halal or kosher meals is a lengthy and complicated process, during which time they may need to buy commissary food to maintain their religious diets. After a detained person submits a request for a religious diet, both the chaplain and facility administrator decide whether to approve it based on a process that includes reviewing files and consulting with religious representatives.¹⁵⁶

Detained individuals told us that Monroe first verifies with a religious leader and a family member that the detained person maintained a religious diet before detention. Monroe staff explained on the tour that they have called a detained 颈苍诲颈惫颈诲耻补濒鈥檚 grandparents to verify the detained person was Jewish. Once a detained individual receives a religious diet, his or her eating habits are closely scrutinized. Detained individuals who receive a kosher meal must only purchase commissary items Monroe deems kosher. If they fail to do so they will be immediately removed from the diet. Several detained individuals, however, reported that Monroe incorrectly categorizes food in commissary and, as a result, has wrongly disqualified individuals from the religious diet.

Glades County Detention Center, Moore Haven, FLA.

Glades County Detention Center (Glades), a facility with an inter-governmental service agreement, is in Moore Haven, Florida, about two hours northwest of Miami. Glades County (population: 13,800) is largely farmland. In 2002, the county created Glades Correctional Development Corporation (GCDC) with the goal of building a jail now owned by GCDC.¹⁶⁰ To gather the funds to build the jail, GCDC issued tax-exempt revenue bonds 鈥� bonds backed by projected future revenue from ICE 鈥� for the entire $33 million cost of the jail.

ICE pays the county $80.64 per detained person per day, and Glades can house roughly 500 ICE detained individuals. At the time of our tour, Glades had 407 people in ICE custody. The jail is 13 times larger than anything the county would need.¹⁶¹ It appears the county built Glades largely for the purpose of profiting off of the incarceration of noncitizens.

The detention center is about a two-hour drive northwest of Miami, near Lake Okeechobee. Not only does the facility鈥檚 location diminish the likelihood detained immigrants will be able to retain an attorney, but the remoteness also compounds the isolation of detained individuals; Glades prohibits in-person visitation with family. Instead, it offers non-contact visits and time-restricted video chats.

Glades is subject to the 2000 National Detention Standards. Its last inspection by the Nakamoto Group was in March 2019.¹⁶² An ICE official on our tour stated that the facility passed inspection 鈥渨ith flying colors,鈥� although the overall Nakamoto rating of the facility was only 鈥渁cceptable.鈥� The rating is faint praise, as Nakamoto鈥檚 inspections have little credibility.¹⁶³

Video teleconference hearings

The cases of people detained at Glades are heard at Krome, some in person and some through video teleconference (VTC). While the Department of Justice鈥檚 Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the office that runs immigration courts, touts VTC hearings because they save travel time for judges,¹⁶⁴ such hearings present a number of difficulties for detained people. First, attorneys must appear in person at Krome, not with their clients, which means an attorney cannot meet with a client beforehand or confer with the client during the hearing. Pro se individuals (individuals representing themselves) must mail all filings to the court beforehand, instead of submitting filings the day of the hearing.

What鈥檚 more, there are frequently technological issues (such as faulty audio or picture), difficulties presenting evidence, and problems with translation. Moreover, VTC puts individuals at a disadvantage because it is more difficult for the judge to evaluate a person鈥檚 demeanor and credibility.

Access to counsel

Glades鈥� remote location makes it harder for detained individuals to find and consult with attorneys. Of the pro bono providers on the list given by the immigration court to those in removal proceedings, only AIJ Justice and Catholic Legal Services regularly visit the facility.

Glades does not have dedicated space for attorney-client visitation. Instead, attorneys use a small medical examination room and a larger room with a television and camera in it, known as the 鈥減olycom room,鈥� where the first appearance for those in criminal custody takes place. Attorneys can also speak with their clients in non-contact booths. The booths place attorneys and clients on opposite sides of a thick glass barrier where they communicate via phone. This arrangement is ill-suited for attorney-client meetings, as there is no guarantee the phone line is not recorded (although the facility maintains it is not monitored), and there is no slot to pass documents back and forth.

Food, sanitation and hygiene

Glades has six pods 鈥� two for women and four for men 鈥� where people are confined for most of the day. The physical conditions of the facility are reportedly the worst out of the four South Florida facilities.¹⁶⁵ Detained individuals told us that there is mold on the walls and ceilings; the emergency sprinklers are so covered with mildew that they are black instead of silver; and there are bugs inside the dorm. Other issues include thin mattresses that cause back pain; shower curtains that have turned brown due to mold; and water that is yellow and has an odor.

People also said the cleaning products used at the facility are inadequate and noted that the facility does not use bleach to clean, which only exacerbates the unsanitary conditions. Some detained individuals have resorted to using shampoo to clean surfaces.

Several people told us that their health has been affected by the unsanitary environment in detention, which they cite as the source of their coughs, flu, and other respiratory conditions. In her three months since arriving at Glades, Marisol F. said she has endured a persistent cough.¹⁶⁶ She is now experiencing back pain due to it. When she requested medical care, she received no treatment.

Meals are given inside the pod rather than a cafeteria. While Glades鈥� written policies promise 鈥渘utritious, attractively presented meals, prepared in a sanitary manner,鈥� the food people reportedly receive is far from that standard. People complained that Glades serves too much pasta (cheap, easy, and not nutritious) and that the portions are too small. 鈥淟ast night I went to sleep hungry,鈥� Marisol said. 鈥淚 go to sleep to not feel hunger.鈥�¹⁶⁷

People have reportedly received spoiled food,¹⁶⁸ or have found bugs or worms in their food, heightening the risk of illness. The drinking water has a yellowish hue and an odd taste that has detained individuals concerned. Several people reported getting sick themselves or witnessing someone else become sick from the food. Due to the inadequate and unsanitary food, many people rely on the expensive food sold at the commissary. At the commissary, for example, instant coffee sold for twice the average price in most grocery stores, and tuna is about three times as expensive.

Improper medical and mental health care

Medical care at Glades is contracted to Armor Correctional Health Services. There is only one doctor at the facility and that doctor is only available four days a week.¹⁶⁹ Various nurses and other staff are otherwise available to detained individuals. At least one nurse on staff speaks Spanish. In instances where there is a language barrier, medical staff informed us they use telephonic interpretation.

People with chronic medical conditions told us that Glades does not provide the treatment they require. Carmen D., 52, said that before being detained, she was taking prescription medication for diabetic neuropathy (chronic nerve damage that can occur with diabetes), pain, depression, and anxiety.¹⁷⁰ In her three months at Glades, her hand has started to tingle, and she discovered a cyst on her palm. She requested medical attention for both issues, with no response for weeks.

The only 鈥渢reatment鈥� she receives for her medical condition is ibuprofen twice a day, which has proven ineffective. 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 just give me whatever they want 鈥� you can鈥檛 do that with mental health issues,鈥� she said.

Carmen said she has gained about 15 pounds in detention. After weeks of trying to get a restricted diet for health reasons, she was finally able to receive the renal diet, but as a result, facility staff no longer provided a snack that was compatible for someone with her diabetic condition.

Many individuals said they felt forced to compromise their health because they know requests for medical care are denied. When asked whether he is seeking mental health care, Leandro E. responded: 鈥淚 keep it to myself. It is pointless to say anything.鈥�¹⁷¹ But this comes at a cost.

People told us that Glades does not provide adequate mental health treatment. Few people reportedly receive counseling, and various detainees alleged some mental health providers lack professionalism. Detainees told us about a mental health care provider who provides legal advice on immigration cases. In one incident, she reportedly told a group of Somali men that they would all be deported on a specific date, causing widespread panic. We also received reports that a mental health provider allegedly told a Muslim man that she believed all Muslims were rapists.

Another man shared a story about mental health counselor checking in with a detained man who spoke another language. Instead of using telephonic interpretation to communicate, the counselor allegedly asked the man about suicidality by using an insensitive gesture 鈥� dragging an index finger across the neck and shrugging the shoulders 鈥� to convey the question. This situation defies basic standards of care.

Religious access

Several people said they pray and read religious texts to pass the time 鈥� activity protected by the U.S. Constitution. Glades staff, however, regularly fail to provide essential religious items to detained Muslims,¹⁷² even denying basic information required for prayer, such as prayer schedules or what direction is east.

Glades does not provide halal food, forcing detained Muslims to eat meals that don鈥檛 comply with their faith. And during Ramadan, for example, a Muslim holy month observed by fasting from sunrise to sunset, Glades required detained individuals observing Ramadan to eat meals that had been left out for three to eight hours as they observed the religious holiday. The food was 鈥渉ard to swallow,鈥� and often included a meat that smelled rotten.¹⁷³

This blatant discrimination against detained Muslims is not limited to Ramadan. Requests for Qurans take months to fulfill or are denied. When someone finally obtains a Quran, it is usually not in the requested language. Individuals wearing kufis (religious headgear) are regularly targeted by officers who have reportedly knocked kufis off of men鈥檚 heads. In at least one incident, a man was allegedly sent to solitary confinement for wearing a kufi.

Glades does not provide other items essential to Islamic practice, such as prayer rugs or prayer beads. Muslim men reportedly must use an extra bedsheet or blanket instead of a prayer rug, although these makeshift prayer rugs are sometimes confiscated as contraband. As a result, individuals often resort to praying on the dirty floor or using the same bedsheet for praying and sleeping.

In contrast, detained Christians reported few difficulties practicing their faith. The facility鈥檚 chaplain helped set up a Christian ministry at the facility, but reportedly did not do the same for Muslims. Individuals who are both black and Muslim also reported that racism is behind the treatment they鈥檝e experienced. For example, when detained Muslims ask why their religious rights are not respected, the response from some staff has allegedly been: 鈥淏oy, you鈥檙e in Glades County.鈥�

Use of force and segregation

While Glades policies state that force, chemical agents and deprivation of basic needs like food, clothing and hygiene should not be used unless absolutely necessary,¹⁷⁴ multiple detained individuals reported that Glades staff does not follow these guidelines. They told us that officers routinely misuse pepper spray, use excessive force and racial slurs, and overuse isolation in a retaliatory manner.

Almost everyone we spoke to noted the degrading manner in which some guards speak to detained individuals. People reportedly feel they are treated like animals, or worse. Several also reported being cursed, jeered and yelled at, while detained individuals who are black are frequently called racial slurs by the guards. Several men confirmed that the most commonly used method of breaking up fights is pepper spray, despite Glades鈥� written policy describing chemical agents as a last resort.¹⁷⁵ Some detained individuals alleged that officers take people to parts of the facility unmonitored by cameras to beat them.

At least two AI Justice clients reported being pepper-sprayed while locked in isolation. In one instance, on Dec. 25, 2017, Ayaan S. told us he was arguing with another detained person about using the phone because he wanted to call his wife and children as they celebrated Christmas. Only two phones were working in a pod occupied by 75 to 100 people. When other detained people tried to defuse the situation, guards reportedly took one man outside, while another guard pepper-sprayed Ayaan in the face, at close range, soaking him with the spray. Ayaan said the guard then slammed him to the floor and put his knees on his head while another officer handcuffed him. Guards pepper-sprayed him again while handcuffed.

Facility staff then reportedly placed Ayaan in isolation, preventing him from showering for two days 鈥� preventing him from washing the spray from his eyes and off his body. As a result, his skin and eyes burned constantly. When Ayaan was taken to the nurse, he said he needed to be taken to the hospital. He thought he was going blind. The nurse allegedly replied, 鈥淭his is Glades County. We don鈥檛 take people to the hospital for pepper spray.鈥�

Michelange A., a 31-year-old Haitian man, was pepper-sprayed and put in segregation for 10 days 鈥� all for breaking up a fight.¹⁷⁶ While Michelange received documents regarding the alleged disciplinary violation and attended his disciplinary hearing, he understood neither the contents of the documents nor the hearing process. When he asked what he should have done to avoid segregation, the guards told him he should not have stopped the fight. Instead, he should have knocked on the door to get the guards, they said.

After being pepper-sprayed, Michelange, who has asthma, said he was unable to breathe inside his isolation cell. While in isolation, he managed to see a doctor, who merely ordered that the food slot in the door be kept open to provide Michelange with more ventilation. The slot only remained open until the guard on the next shift closed it. While in the segregation unit, Michelange said he felt like he was going to die. He had to stay close to the door at all times to get air. The dust and dirt in the isolation cell made him sneeze and made it even more difficult to breathe.

Glades staff鈥檚 use of force is directly tied to the overuse of segregation. 鈥淭he box,鈥� as the segregation unit is known, is allegedly used routinely as a threat against detainees. We heard reports of solitary being used for individuals who identify as LGBTQ whenever they reported any incident 鈥� an action that actively discourages them from reporting harm. People also told us about detained individuals being placed in isolation merely for asking a question or seeking to submit a grievance.

Recommendations to to Florida

• Florida must mandate state oversight of existing facilities by enforcing mandatory, unannounced inspections from the state attorney general, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to safeguard detained individuals鈥� health and safety.¹⁸⁵
• Florida must demand transparency and accountability from immigration detention facilities by extending Florida public records laws to apply to private immigration detention facilities within the state.¹⁸⁶ The current failure to apply these laws to immigration detention centers allows them to operate in the shadows by preventing the public and the media from knowing what is occurring within these facilities in their communities.
• Florida must fund legal representation for people in removal proceedings.¹⁸⁷ While immigration cases are civil in nature, which means an individual is not provided an attorney at government expense, individuals should not be forced to navigate on their own an area of law that rivals tax law in its complexity.
• Florida must terminate the dangerous entanglement between state law enforcement and ICE. Immigration enforcement programs encourage racial and ethnic profiling, increase fear and distrust in communities of color, and divert resources from genuine police priorities that promote public safety. Florida and the localities within it must immediately end collaboration with ICE, including 287(g) agreements, the Secure Communities Program, the use of Basic Ordering Agreements, and the Warrant Service Officer Program. It must also repeal SB 168, which mandates such collaboration. These programs funnel immigrants in our local communities into an ever-expanding immigrant detention system.

Recommendations to DHS

Reduce the detained population through decarceration

• DHS must drastically reduce the immigrant detention population. It can grant parole or bond in the first instance. If further monitoring is needed, it should use community-based alternatives to detention. Community-based alternatives would allow for the release and support of individuals with serious medical or mental health conditions, immigrants who have been victims of crimes in the United States, asylum-seekers, and immigrants who are long-term residents with strong community ties.
• Stackable beds, which are not an appropriate method to address overcrowding, should not be used in any facility.
• DHS must end the expansion of the immigrant prison system. The current state of ICE incarceration is unprecedented and unnecessary. Currently, there are over 50,000 people in ICE custody 鈥� massive growth from the 6,000 to 7,000 people in ICE custody 25 years ago.
• DHS must end the use of detention quotas specified in contracts with immigrant prison facilities that mandate a certain number of beds be filled.
• DHS should stop attaching cash bond amounts to parole releases. Many detained people and their families cannot afford the bond amounts set by the courts.

End contracts with private prison companies and county jails: 鈥╯hut down Broward, Glades, and Monroe facilities

• DHS must terminate contracts with private prison companies that are institutionally committed to expanding incarceration without regard to constitutional rights or basic human dignity. This includes the contract with GEO for the Broward Transitional Center, where no one is subject to mandatory detention. ICE has the discretion to release the entire population on bond or parole or their own recognizance but chooses not to do so.
• DHS must terminate contracts with county jails and shut down Glades County and Monroe County detention centers. These facilities are too remote for detained people to have adequate access to legal counsel, medical and mental health care, and accommodations for people with disabilities. The agency must terminate contracts with any facility located over an hour away from a major metropolitan area.

Improve conditions

• DHS must meet the minimum constitutional and statutory requirements in providing mental, medical, and dental services to every person in its custody, at no cost to the detained person, ensuring that every person in its custody is receiving necessary care.
• DHS must allow individuals to keep their medication on their person at all times 鈥� particularly during transportation. People have been forced to miss medication, sometimes for several days, when being transported between facilities.
• DHS must accommodate individuals in its custody with special diets. These diets, whether they are due to medical or religious reasons, must be accommodated in a timely manner.
• DHS must provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities immediately and adequately. Under no circumstance should DHS place detained individuals with mental disabilities in segregation.
• DHS must implement in-person, contact visitation at all facilities. Such visits are necessary to alleviate the isolation experienced by detained people.
• DHS must ensure that all facilities allow daily outdoor recreation.
• DHS must end the use of solitary confinement as punishment. The United Nations recognizes the use of solitary confinement as torture. ICE, however, continues to engage in the practice of locking people away in single cells without regular human interaction.
• DHS must end the use of restraints in all detention facilities and during transportation. Restraints risk exacerbating a detained person鈥檚 pain (physical or psychological) or conditions such as limited mobility.

Enforce Accountability

• DHS must stop using facilities that do not adhere to the latest Performance-Based National Detention Standards.
• DHS must strengthen its oversight and meaningfully hold facilities accountable when they fail to adhere to ICE鈥檚 facility standards. DHS must hold facilities accountable for not complying with detention standards by immediately terminating contracts with facilities that do not meet the minimum requirements. Further, DHS must stop granting waivers when facilities fail to adhere to standards of conditions of confinement.

Recommendations to DOJ

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), through the Executive Office of Immigration Review, must end the use of video teleconferencing (VTC). VTC disadvantages people before the court. It is more difficult for the judge to assess demeanor and credibility. It also poses difficulties in presenting evidence, problems with translation, and technological issues, such as faulty audio or picture.
• The DOJ must end the use of cash bonds. Many detained people and their families cannot afford the bond amounts set by the courts. While the statutory minimum for an immigration bond is $1,500, there is no cap on the bond amount an immigration judge can set. Even when granted bond by the immigration judge, many people we encountered were forced to remain in detention because of their inability to pay.
• The DOJ must ensure that Legal Orientation Programs, which strengthens access to counsel and legal materials, are offered at each detention facility.

What Can I Do to Help?

• Contact your local representatives to let them know you oppose immigrant detention.
• Private businesses in Florida and elsewhere, such as hotels, airlines, bus companies, and car rental companies, must stop working with ICE. Floridians can boycott these businesses affiliated with private prisons and immigrant detention.
• Reach out to local advocacy groups, like the Florida Immigrant Coalition, to find out other ways to get involved. Find out more about the Florida Immigrant Coalition at floridaimmigrant.org.
• Reach out to immigrant detention visitation programs like Freedom for Immigrants to visit people in immigrant detention. Find more information at freedomforimmigrants.org/visitation-network.

In our investigation, we examined specific conditions of confinement related to detention standards on medical care, use of force and restraints, sexual abuse and assault, disciplinary systems, special management units, holding rooms, hunger strikes, grievance systems, staff communication with detained people, food service, personal hygiene, religious practices, telephone access, visitation, law libraries and legal materials, and transfers of detained people. A summary of requirements under the National Detention Standards 2000, Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2008 and 2011 for these areas can be found here for reference.

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