7/31/2025–|Last update: 16:31 (Mecca time)
Human Rights Watch revealed in a recent report on a serious human rights crisis within the migrant detention centers in the state of Florida, USA.
The organization pointed out that thousands of detainees there are tragic conditions and face severe violations of their rights, in the absence of censorship and transparency.
Nicole Wadroshim, deputy director of the Washington office in the organization, said that her team visited several detention centers in the state – the most prominent of which is the “Chrome” center, the “Parade” center and the Federal Displacement Center – and noted during the past months a severe overcrowding, so that it has occupied the cells designated for 66 people more than 150 sometimes detained. She added that the detainees are sleeping on the ground or in narrow corridors and for long hours without the slightest conditions of health and safety.
The report monitored wide complaints about the decline in basic services, as meals were reduced in half, hot breakfast meals were canceled, and the detainees were imposed on eating food in their beds instead of the dining hall. The detainees were also deprived of sport only once a week, and the possibility of requesting health care was limited to only 5 people per day, while the service is completely suspended.
Human Rights Watch highlighted the painful deaths of immigrants, including Ukrainian and another from Haiti, their families and colleagues said that the center’s administration has repeatedly refused them to treatment despite the deterioration of their health, and some people with chronic diseases were deprived of their vital medicine.
The report expressed concern that these violations may expand with the opening of a new detention center called “Aligator Alacatraz” in the Evergels region of Florida, which is expected to accommodate about 3,000 immigrants in the absence of media control so far.
The report held the federal authorities and Florida State authorities responsible for escalating violations, especially after expanding the application of policies that allow the local police extensive powers to arrest and arrest migrants.
The organization warned that these policies lead to an increase in fear and disarmament between immigrants and security services, which causes many – even crime victims – to refrain from resorting to the police for fear of arrest and deportation. The report quoted one of the women as saying that she prefers not to inform the police of any crime she was exposed to for fear of arrest.
Human Rights Watch called for the necessity of ending the detention policy as a routine procedure in dealing with immigrants, and to limit it to exceptional cases only, with a comprehensive review of the cooperation agreements between local and federal authorities, and ensuring a humanitarian treatment that preserves the dignity and rights of all detainees.
