Such degrading and inhumane treatment includes confining people in “holding” cells that are at three to five times the cells’ capacity.
MIAMI, FL – Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council documenting egregious human rights abuses of immigrants at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, Florida. The report was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which is currently reviewing the human rights record of the United States.
In a process known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the UNHRC reviews the human rights record of all UN member states in four-year cycles. The review of the U.S. human rights record started in November 2020, and the Working Group session regarding the review is expected to be held in July 2025. During the UPR Working Group’s 50th Session (November 3–14, 2025), the reviews of 14 countries, including the U.S., will be submitted for consideration.
AI Justice obtained direct testimonies from immigrants who suffered appalling and shocking treatment at the Krome Detention Center in violation of basic human rights. Such degrading and inhumane treatment includes confining people in “holding” cells that are at three to five times the cells’ capacity, where they had to sleep on the cold concrete floor without any blankets or bedding under fluorescent lighting in unsanitary conditions; detaining individuals overnight in shackles on buses with overflowing toilets; providing little to no access to basic sanitation like showers or clean clothes; denying immigrants urgently needed medical care; and depriving individuals of the ability to contact their families or attorneys to inform them of their whereabouts.
One man described the situation of being confined overnight on a bus outside of Krome and then his time within the facility:
“Spending the night on the bus was very painful. We were fully shackled all night, and it was almost impossible to sleep shackled and sitting on uncomfortable bus seats. I also got very thirsty, since I had only gotten one small bottle of water when we arrived.
In the afternoon, the day after we arrived, we were brought to a large, freezing cold room. The room was crowded; I would guess that there were around 80 people in the room. I saw a sign in the room that said that it had a maximum occupancy of 25 people.
I spent about two days and two nights in this room, and I was in a lot of pain the entire time. My back hurt really badly, from my night shackled on the bus. All I could do was lie on the ground. I kept asking for medical help, but the guards laughed and said I was faking it. “
Another man also reported on the extreme conditions within Krome:
“We had to take turns sleeping, with some men lying down and some standing, because there wasn’t enough room for us to all lie down. The room smelled really bad, and men were lying down right next to the toilet—even as others did their business right next to their heads. It was disgusting.”
“The United States has agreed to several important international treaties, like the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD),” said Senior Litigation Attorney Evelyn Wiese. “We cannot abandon our commitment to human rights and must continue to uphold the principles and standards we agreed to when adopting these international treaties.”
“These immigrants, who are being held in civil – not criminal – detention, are being held in inhumane conditions. Based on these conditions, if these were commercial facilities for animals, they would shut them down for health and sanitation violations,” said Denise Noonan Slavin, the Senior Advisor of Americans for Immigrant Justice. “These are people who were our neighbors, friends, employees, and employers. They deserve better and we cannot tolerate this mistreatment.”
“The grave and rapid deterioration of the conditions at Krome is unprecedented—despite it being a facility with a documented history of abuse and poor conditions. The horrifying current reports from immigrants are a piercing alarm that communities, families, and children in the United States have been severely harmed and permanently impacted. Americans for Immigrant Justice will continue to defend the many vulnerable individuals who have suffered in silence and endured human rights violations at Krome,” said Sui Chung, Executive Director, Americans for Immigrant Justice.
About Americans for Immigrant Justice
Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) is an award-winning non-profit law firm that fights for justice for immigrants through a combination of direct representation, impact litigation, advocacy and outreach. Follow on Twitter and Instagram. Visit aijustice.org.
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