Overview

• The report by Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South documents systemic abuses since January at Krome North, Broward Transitional Center and the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
• Investigators linked chronic overcrowding, denial of medical care and degrading treatment to at least two detainee deaths.
• Detainees described constant lighting, unsanitary conditions, insect-infested meals, broken phones and forced kneeling and shackling during meals and transport.
• Alligator Alcatraz, the $225 million Everglades-based facility, has housed nearly 900 men in tents since its late June opening under state funds and emergency orders despite plans for a 5,000-bed capacity.
• The report’s release has intensified legal challenges under federal, tribal and environmental laws and prompted lawmakers and rights groups to demand independent oversight and community-based alternatives.