Miami Dems demand Krome Detention Center tour amid reports of ‘inhumane’ conditions

Following reports of overcrowding and “inhumane” treatment at the Krome Detention Center, Miami-Dade Democrats are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant them a tour of the facility so they can witness the conditions firsthand.

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava penned letters to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem requesting visits to the Homestead-based center, which immigrant women detained there have reportedly described as “Hell on Earth.”

They complained, among other things, of being crammed into cells, denied the ability to regularly bathe, forced to sleep on concrete floors and chained for hours without food, water or bathroom access.

In her Monday letter, Wilson referenced a March 30 report by the Miami Herald about protests outside the detention center last month, following news of deteriorating conditions and the deaths of two detainees.

Wilson said she had also heard “directly from immigration lawyers about the unacceptable conditions at Krome,” including the aforementioned indignities and “female detainees being held in a facility designated for men.”

“These alarming accounts illustrate the urgent need for me to exercise my duty of congressional oversight and intervention,” she said.

Wilson cited Article 1 of the Constitution, which she said grants federal lawmakers authority to access federal facilities to verify compliance with federal laws and policies.

She also cited the Supreme Court’s Watkins v. United States decision, which in part said Congress’ “broad” investigative power “is inherent in the legislative process” and “encompasses inquiries concerning the administration of existing laws as well as proposed or possibly needed statutes.”

“It is imperative that Congress gains firsthand insight into the facility’s operations to address these serious concerns and ensure that the rights and dignities of individuals in detention are upheld,” Wilson said. “I fully support lawful detention and the enforcement of the law; however, this is balanced by the need to ensure that people who are in government custody are not treated inhumanely, no matter the circumstance.”

Wilson asked Noem to identify a date for her to visit either from April 11-21 or April 25-28 and detail “what steps will be taken to ensure that this visit receives complete transparency.”

Last week, Levine Cava sent Noem a similar letter in which she sought a tour of the facility for her and other local officials. She said migrant deportations under President Donald Trump “have not kept pace” with arrests, “and far fewer immigrants are being paroled or released.”

That, she said, has led to the indeterminate detention of “a growing number of (detainees with) no criminal records … green card holders and long-standing members of our community who were contributing to our economy, supporting their families and paying taxes.”

“Krome is now housing a broad range of immigrants, including women and people with no criminal charges, and reports described alleged overcrowding so severe that inmates are ‘sleeping on their feet,’” she said. “To ensure legal and humane conditions and standards at Krome, we respectfully request a tour of the facilities for a delegation of local, state and congressional elected officials.”

Late last month, a Colombian student attending the University of Florida named Zapata Velásquez was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sent to the Krome facility. The Miami New Times reported on the incident Monday, noting that Velásquez’s detainment appears to be the first case of a Florida college student being arrested under Trump’s hard-line immigration policies.

In the first 50 days of Trump again taking office, ICE made 32,809 arrests, according to DHS, which said nearly half were convicted criminals, a third had pending criminal charges, 1,155 were gang members and 39 were “known or suspected terrorists.” Monday marked Day 76 of Trump’s second term.

The Trump administration admitted last week that it mistakenly deported a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison last month, where he would likely face persecution by local gangs. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts agreed Monday to extend the deadline for the Trump administration to return the man, whom the White House says has ties to the MS-13 gang — an assertion for which the man and his lawyers say there is no evidence.