Inspectors cite severe overcrowding and other violations at Krome
Anisley Cortés said Noslén Sendra, her 41-year-old husband and a Cuban national, has uncontrolled diabetes and acute pancreatitis that resulted in a weeks-long hospital stay earlier this year. She said he has been incarcerated since last November, first at the now-closed “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail and at Krome since April. Cortés said Sendra lost more than 50 pounds, was denied his medication and did not receive enough food in detention. “He is very sick and needs the right healthcare,” she said.
Relatives of detainees with grave and worsening medical conditions at two Florida immigration jails said authorities were about to deport their loved ones to unknown countries in Africa despite those conditions. Workers Circle, which monitors conditions and speaks with detainees inside the two ICE facilities in South Florida, and the families said flights were scheduled as early as Wednesday. Workers Circle said the group learned only in the last few days that multiple sick detainees with varying conditions had been targeted for imminent deportation.
The affected detainees are held at the Krome North processing center in Miami and the Broward transitional center in Pompano Beach. Both facilities are privately run on behalf of ICE.
At a Tuesday night press conference, Workers Circle immigrant rights organizer Arianne Betancourt said, “I received a call from several detainees letting me know that men were being pulled in to interviews with deportation agents, where they were being informed that because of their medical conditions, Mexico would not be accepting their entry, and they will be sent to Africa.” Betancourt said, “We know that once they are deported and sent to these third countries, they are not receiving medical care in detention. They have difficulties getting medicine.”
Cortés said Cuba would not accept Sendra as a deportee and that the family had proof Mexico would not accept him because he was so sick. She said ICE also told him Mexico would not accept him because he required too many medications. Cortés said Sendra was told, “Oh well, we’re going to have to send you to Africa.” Cortés said ICE also told Sendra, “Well, we have to deport you anyway.” “We’re left with the uncertainty of not knowing how he is, or if we’ll see him again,” she said.
Immigration rights attorney Shalyn Fluharty said information from the detainees indicated deportation flights were imminent. The relatives did not identify the destination countries. Fluharty separately gave a qualified estimate of the likely destinations: “We understand that just this week, within a couple of days, likely Thursday and Friday, there will be two flights going to Africa, in particular to the Central African Republic, and we also believe Burundi.”
Fluharty said previously deported immigrants were shackled at their hands, ankles and waists during lengthy flights, and some who complained were placed in full-body wraps with no ability to move. She said she anticipated similar treatment for the current detainees based on what she had seen in the past. “Travel can last sometimes up to 24 hours,” Fluharty said. She asked what would happen to someone with a heart condition, a high risk of stroke or diabetes requiring regular access to food or insulin. “These conditions take your already vulnerable medical state and make them, unfortunately, often life-threatening,” she said.
Responding to a request for comment, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson demanded to know the affected detainees’ personal information. The department did not respond further when provided with Sendra’s details.
A government inspector’s report that appeared the previous month said Krome was experiencing severe overcrowding. During two unannounced visits to Krome in May, government inspectors found multiple violations of detention standards, including severe overcrowding. The report said Krome was holding 1,102 detainees despite a maximum capacity of 882, a level that “jeopardizes the safe and orderly operations within the facility.”
Other listed violations included too few operational toilets, sinks and showers. Earlier complaints described in the report included female detainees being made to use toilets in full view of men and arriving detainees being held for more than 24 hours in a bus in the parking lot because of a lack of space.
Betancourt said families risked retaliation for their relatives by coming forward. “This is not a single one-off story,” she said. “The inspector general’s report confirmed that there is a lack of medical care inside of the Krome detention facility. Families have been demanding oversight, and every day they are experiencing real fear to speak up and advocate for their loved ones.”
Advocates said Donald Trump’s second-term immigration actions had caused overcrowding in detention centers nationwide and that the Department of Homeland Security had attempted to alleviate the overcrowding by increasing deportation flights to third countries. The practice, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court the previous month, had sent hundreds of detainees to at least a dozen African countries where they had no ties. A Human Rights Watch report published earlier this month found “countless examples of abusive treatment during and after the flights.” It said detainees were subjected to persecution, arbitrary incarceration and torture following their arrival.
Earlier MSI reporting documented Human Rights Watch’s findings on U.S. third-country deportations to Africa and two Cuban men’s removal to the Central African Republic; the current claims concern planned removals of medically vulnerable detainees from Florida.