Eyes on ICE: An Analysis of Growing Concerns Regarding Abuse and Neglect within Migrant Detention Facilities
Edited by Danielle Young
The Current ICE Strategy
A major emphasis and policy position for President Donald Trump’s second administration has been cracking down on illegal immigration, conducting mass deportations, and, in the words of the administration, “implementing tougher enforcement, closing loopholes, and restoring operational control of the southern border” (The White House). To achieve this, the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been allotted a budget of $113.5 billion in “funding from the two partisan funding bills that Republicans passed over the last year” (Senate Budget Committee). As these operations grow, national dialogue on human rights violations and the poor conditions in migrant detention facilities has taken center stage. Reports from those who have lived within these facilities and those outside watching describe inadequate sanitation, medical neglect, and use of force on detainees as prevalent (Freyer). An analysis of local incidents in Florida and incidents nationwide clarifies the current detention infrastructure and the potential issues it can lead to if left unchecked.
Detention Center Incidents Locally
Florida is home to six migrant detention centers operating throughout the state, reaching all corners of the peninsula. The South Florida Detention Facility, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” was in operation for less than a year before it shut down (Collins). Reports from detainees during their time there include, “infrequent showers, meals that amounted to little more than snacks, other detainees falling ill with flu-like symptoms and sleep deprivation… lack of information, recreation and access to medication” (Mazzei and Aleaziz). Similar reports are seen among detention centers nationally, hinting at what could be a widespread concern regarding how detainees feel mistreated (Freyer).
Within facilities in Florida and other states, effects of medical neglect and improper sanitation have resulted in the spread of various infectious diseases within these detention centers. Mumps was of particular concern, as “geospatial clustering analyses visually suggested case rates were highest across facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida” (Gupta et al.). As for influenza and hepatitis A, the study concluded “case rates for all diseases were highest in Southern facilities (Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, and Florida)” (Gupta et al.). Though there is no sole cause deemed definitive, it is possible that, through overcrowded centers coupled with rudimentary sanitation practices, these facilities may breed infectious diseases at a faster rate (Gupta et al.).
Detention Center Incidents Nationally
Within ICE detention facilities nationwide, many of the same violations have been reported. Common issues include food shortages, excessive physical violence, medical neglect of detainees with preexisting conditions, and unsanitary living conditions (Freyer). As of the end of June of this year, “19 people had died in ICE detention in the United States. In 2025, the number was 33, the highest ever” (Freyer). Of these 52, Freyer refers to many of them as suicides, while others involved health complications that worsened due to lack of medical access or neglect within these centers. Freyer referred to two prominent cases from Georgia and Alaska. A Guatemalan detainee, whose leg got infected in transit to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, was denied care until he fell unconscious and almost got his leg amputated (Freyer). Additionally, an immigrant man in an Alaskan detention center began to develop breathing problems after being exposed to chemical dust, a tool used by facility guards to control detainees (Freyer).
Similar reports from detention centers across the country suggest that insufficient regulation and underdeveloped systems for responding to complaints may contribute to the pattern (Celada). There is a lack of a “proper method to oversee the conditions in its detention centers and address the complaints that stem from these facilities. As a result of the efforts to oversee detention center conditions being so fragmented, as well as the lack of initiative from government agencies to fully analyze problematic trends in these centers, reports of sexual assault, verbal and physical abuse, and inadequate medical care persist” (Celada). Efforts to mitigate future abuse and neglect could benefit from creating a top-down system of accountability where officers and officials can be held responsible for their actions, and victims have the proper channels where they can report any potential mistreatment (Celada).
What Should Come Next?
As concerns over how detainees are treated in these facilities and brought in by ICE become more common, the public is calling for change. Some advocate for the abolition of this agency as a whole, as seen after a recent ICE raid in Tallahassee, Florida. The Tallahassee Community Area Response Equipo (TCARE) responded, "ICE has been attacking our neighbors and destroying our community for too long! We need to show up and demand ICE Out” (Sanford). Others call for this agency to reform and centralize its system for accountability and integrity (Celada). Grievances expressed by detainees inside and those from beyond the walls of detention centers raise similar concerns about ICE practices and accountability (Mazzei and Aleaziz; Sanford).
Reports from Florida and nationally have raised recurring questions regarding medical care, sanitation, treatment of detainees, and institutional accountability (Celada; Freyer; Mazzei and Aleaziz). Looking forward, how those concerns may shape future detention practices remains unknown, but the call for change remains: something new or different is necessary (Celada; Sanford).