Conditions At The US Migrant Detention Center Called Worrying, ICE Calls Decent

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Los Angeles June 2025. (Wikimedia Commons/DHS/Tia Dufour)

JAKARTA - The United States Immigration and Customs (ICE) called the migrant detention center appropriate, when a report stated that detained migrants were subjected to inhumane treatment and inappropriate detention facilities.

The international watchdog, in a report on Monday, said migrants at a detention center in Florida were forced to eat "dog-like", with their hands tied behind their backs.

Human Rights Watch, which garnered testimony from detainees, relatives, and lawyers, documented alleged abuses at three detention centers in southern Florida, said people were subjected to degrading treatment, lack of medical care, and population density.

The former detainee Harpinder Chauhan, 56, an English businessman and a father of two, told of an incident in April in which dozens of men were not fed for hours. They are thought to have been locked in a cell with their feet and their hands tied behind their backs.

Food was finally given to them on the chair, but they were still detained, recalls Chauhan, who according to Human Rights Watch was detained by Immigration and Customs (ICE) for tax issues.

"We have to bend over and eat out of chairs with our mouths, like dogs," said Chauhan, who was later deported back to England.

According to Human Rights Watch, Chauhan has lived in the US since 2016 and first entered the country on an E-2 investor visa. ICE officers detained him on February 11 after he experienced tax problems.

He and other former detainees described dirty and packed detention centers where migrants were treated poorly.

A woman tells the story of her experience being held at the North Krome Service Processing Center, which is usually earmarked for men in South Florida.

"There is only one toilet, and it is full of dirt," he said.

"We asked the officers to clean it up, but they only said sarcastically, 'Cleaning officers are coming soon.' No one came."

Another man said the reception center where he was being held was very cold. "They turn on the air conditioner. You can't sleep because it's very cold. I think I'm going to have hypothermia," he said.

Meanwhile, ICE Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs 12, McLaughlin, called the allegations in the report "lies".

"Any claim stating that there is a subprime condition at ICE detention centers is wrong," he told The National.

"All detainees are given proper food, medical care, and the opportunity to communicate with their family members and lawyers," McLaughlin explained.

It is known, since President Donald Trump returned to office, the number of people detained by ICE has increased dramatically in line with his efforts to continue to crack down on illegal immigration.

Until the end of last month, an average of 56,000 people were detained at immigration detention centers per day, an increase of 40 percent from the same period last year, which is the highest figure in the history of Uncle Sam's country.