Migrants in Florida jail made to kneel to eat 'like dogs' - report

Migrants at a Miami immigration jail were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates "like dogs", according to a report into conditions at three overcrowded south Florida facilities that was published yesterday.

- Richard Luscombe

The incident at the downtown federal detention center is one of a succession of alleged abuses at jails in the state operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) since January, chronicled by the advocacy groups Human Rights Watch (HRW), Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South from interviews with detainees.

Dozens of men were packed into a holding cell for hours, the report said, and denied lunch until about 7pm. They remained shackled with the food on chairs in front of them. "We had to eat like animals," said Pedro, a detainee.

Degrading treatment by guards is commonplace in all three jails, the groups say. At the Krome North service processing center in west Miami, female detainees were made to use toilets in full view of men being held there, and were denied access to gender-appropriate care, showers or adequate food.