Migrant detainees stage protest at ICE-run facility in Miami

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Migrant detainees staged a protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-run facility in Miami on Thursday. For this protest, they lined up in the courtyard of the Krome Detention Center and spelled out the letters SOS with their own bodies. The protest was captured by local news helicopters. NPR immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd has been following the conditions at this particular facility for months and is on the line. Jasmine, good morning.

JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: Good morning.

INSKEEP: I want people to know that you've had dozens of recorded conversations over time with detainees in Krome and also with their families. So what are you hearing?

GARSD: This facility has had problems for years, and right now we're seeing severe overcrowding. Detainees have reported illnesses, limited access to medication. One of the first tips we received about Krome was from a woman named Maria. She asked that her last name be withheld to protect her brother, who she says has had a serious eye infection with a fever for two weeks and hasn't gotten medication.

MARIA: (Non-English language spoken).

GARSD: They've been sleeping on the floor. She said they aren't always being fed. The food is sometimes spoiled. And I heard this consistently - people going hungry. There's evidence this is a national problem. ICE detention centers are at about 125% capacity. I spoke to Setareh Ghandehari from the advocacy group Detention Watch Network.

SETAREH GHANDEHARI: You know, people are really just languishing without access to necessities. I've heard people use the word starving.

INSKEEP: Well, when people use words like starving about a U.S. government facility where people are being detained, how does ICE respond?

GARSD: ICE acknowledged that there is overcrowding right now. They told NPR in an email, quote, "we are actively implementing measures to manage capacity while maintaining compliance with federal standards and our commitment to humane treatment. These accusations do not reflect ICE's policies or practices," end quote. Now, ICE says the overcrowding is temporary, but the Trump administration is promising even more arrests.

INSKEEP: Useful that they at least acknowledge the overcrowding. No one is denying a problem here, but isn't there a larger problem coming as the administration tries to arrest more and more people to remove them from the country?

GARSD: Yes, and that's why a major goal for the administration is self-deportation. And some detainees I spoke to are asking to be deported. I recorded this conversation between 28-year-old Venezuelan detainee Jhonkleiver Ortega. He's been in detention in Florida for around six months. He did some time at the Krome facility.

VIVIAN ORTEGA: Hello.

JHONKLEIVER ORTEGA: (Non-English language spoken).

V ORTEGA: (Non-English language spoken).

J ORTEGA: (Non-English language spoken).

GARSD: And he says, "Mom, they told me in four months they'll review my asylum case, and I have to present proof I was tortured in Venezuela. That's almost a year in detention, and they are barely feeding us in here, so I've asked to be deported back." And then he says to her that he asked the judge, what if my flight accidentally ends up in a third country, like El Salvador? And he says the judge told him, if that happens, you can email me.

INSKEEP: NPR's Jasmine Garsd. Thanks very much for your reporting - really appreciate it.

GARSD: Thank you.

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