The U.S. has one of the largest immigrant detention programs in the world, using jails, prisons, and facilities owned by private, for-profit companies to house detained migrants. Although a growing body of research has identified many of the harms of migrant detention programs, few studies have examined the experience of migrant detention from the perspective of those detained. Our goal in this report was to better understand the lived experiences of migrant detainees.
This independent analysis was conducted by the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice of Northeastern University using both public documents and complaints submitted to the ACLU of Florida’s Immigration Detention Database.
The report provides first-hand accounts of people detained in Florida Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers for the past six years. The horrifying conditions of confinement about which people most frequently spoke include denial of basic necessities, such as soap, toilet paper, and sanitary pads; unsafe and unsanitary facilities, including moldy walls and bugs crawling out of the drains; as well as the scarcity of edible food and reports of moldy and rotten food.
Its findings confirm the alarming conditions and unconstitutional practices that trend in Florida detention centers. It follows the news of a former medical practitioner who came forth as a whistleblower and disclosed intentional fraud and record manipulation by Baker County Detention Center staff. The account of the whistleblower’s experience at Baker affirms the patterns of abuse and neglect documented in this new report.
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Thursday, December 5, 2024 - 1:00pm
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More than 4.5 million Floridians, 21% of the population, were born in another country. Nearly half are not naturalized U.S. citizens. They are our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends. They have been targeted by anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies at the local and state level.
While the country has been confronted with the harsh consequences of this rhetoric, Florida remains firmly in the Trump era as its political leaders continue to build their legacies on the backs of immigrants. With the 2020 presidential election, many of the Trump Administration’s cruelest policies have been rolled back. While progress is being made on the national front, our country has a long way to go to correct the injustices of a broken immigration system. Florida’s political leaders, meanwhile, continue to push harmful narratives painting immigrants as criminals and actively engaging in unnecessarily cruel anti-immigrant actions, such as sending state resources to the Texas-Mexico border. Local governments still have the authority – and responsibility – to serve and protect their communities without regard to citizenship status.
To mitigate against the harms of forced participation in federal immigration detention and deportation efforts, local governments must adopt policies that:
Limit Warrantless Detention: Local governments do not have to have a 287(g) agreement with ICE to comply with state law. They do have a duty to serve their communities and prioritize local public safety concerns over political rhetoric. They can do this by reducing entanglement with federal immigration enforcement, preserving local policing resources to address localcrime, and protecting their communities by proactively adopting policies that standardize any immigration enforcement activities they feel they must perform under the law.
Increase Transparency and Accountability: Being transparent with the public is an essential part of law enforcement. State law requires cities and counties to participate in federal immigration detention efforts, but they should do this transparently, not secretively.
Prohibit Discrimination: Too often, local police wrongfully detain U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents without probable cause, simply based on how they look or speak. We need to protect the civil liberties of Floridians and make sure our friends and neighbors are not unfairly targeted or discriminated against.
Protect Public Safety: If immigrants either witness a crime, or are victims of a crime, but feel too afraid to report it to local law enforcement because they are worried they’ll be deported, everyone loses. If we want our communities to be safer, then we have to make sure everyone can safely report criminal activity to the police.
Protect Civil Liberties: Less than half of the people facing deportation cases in Florida have legal representation. Because undocumented immigration is not a crime, immigrants, even children, do not have a right to an attorney. Local governments can partner with legal aid foundations and reputable law firms to ensure immigrants have the legal advice necessary to navigate our incredibly complex immigration system.
Date
Friday, November 5, 2021 - 5:00am
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Over the last year, we rode an emotional, economic, and healthcare roller coaster together. We experienced loss throughout the COVID pandemic and at the hands of the police. We also experienced a dangerous, white supremacist insurrection at the U.S. Capitol spurred by former President Trump and lawmakers who refused to acknowledge the results of the 2020 presidential election.
We dealt with fundamental attacks on our democracy in legislatures across the country, including in Florida. Over the course of 60 days, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies forced through laws that criminalize peaceful protesters and shield counter-protesters from civil liability for killing or injuring a demonstrator. They also enacted voter suppression schemes that will make it harder for Floridians to vote by mail and will disproportionately impact Black, elderly, mobility-impaired, student and veteran voters; and they callously discriminated against transgender girls by banning them from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
The cruelty we witnessed during the 2021 legislative session highlights the fundamental disconnect between Florida elected officials and the people. The more that Floridians express and champion their ideals, the more politicians in Tallahassee work to enact legislation to undermine the power of our communities.
What we know at the ACLU of Florida is that, in these challenging times, our work is more critical and necessary than ever, and it may be some of the most important work we have engaged in over the last decade. This work includes engaging directly with communities closest to the issues and reimagining solutions to the problems that plague our state. It also includes strategizing daily with our partners and stakeholders to empower people to make their voices heard, to change the civil liberties landscape in Florida, and make our state truly a place where all Floridians can thrive.
We saw firsthand over the 60-day legislative session how much Floridians care about improving and advancing our democracy. Despite all efforts to thwart our voices, the commitment in our communities to change the political and social landscape of Florida is stronger than ever and will prevail.
The 2021 Florida legislative session created more challenges than solutions, but the movement continues undeterred. We will not stop until Florida is a place of opportunity for all. Along with our supporters and partners, we will continue to work toward and achieve a Florida we can all believe in.
2021 Legislative Report: Building Power in our Communities
Date
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 - 1:15pm
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