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A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the United States of subjecting migrants in detention centres to degrading and inhumane treatment, issuing a strong critique of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The 92-page report, released on Monday, describes widespread neglect and overcrowding at several detention facilities, along with disturbing accounts of mistreatment. The findings come as Trump escalates immigration enforcement and pledges mass deportations.
“Migrants held in immigration detention are being treated as less than human,” said Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis and conflict director. One particularly harrowing account detailed how detainees in shackles, while being prepared for transport, were forced to kneel and eat from styrofoam trays without the use of their hands. “We had to place the food on chairs and eat with our mouths like dogs,” one individual told HRW.
The report centres on conditions in three Florida-based centres and recounts experiences of detainees sleeping on concrete floors, using shoes as makeshift pillows, and being denied basic hygiene facilities. One man claimed he was not allowed to wash his hands or access soap for 20 days, while another was reportedly refused vital medication including insulin and an asthma inhaler.
Some female detainees reported being held in cells with exposed toilets visible to men in nearby rooms, raising serious concerns about privacy and dignity.
HRW compiled testimonies from 17 migrants and collaborated with advocacy organisations Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South. The report also draws attention to a controversial new Florida facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” which Trump toured in July. The president reportedly joked about alligators serving as guards and touted the harsh conditions as a deterrent.
Trump has vowed to launch the largest migrant deportation campaign in American history. US lawmakers recently approved a $45 billion funding package for the expansion of detention infrastructure.
While Trump’s strict immigration policy has been a central pillar of his presidency and re-election campaign, it has also drawn intense criticism and public protest across the country. The United States, home to the world’s largest immigrant population, has seen its daily detention figures surge by more than 40% since June of last year, according to HRW.
The report states that nearly 72% of those detained in mid-June had no criminal record. “The US government is locking up thousands of individuals who pose no public safety risk, under conditions that violate fundamental human rights,” Wille added.
