Lawyers and human rights advocates warn of inhumane conditions, torture, and growing opacity inside immigration detention centers. They denounce that Donald Trump’s administration continues to enforce policies that violate the Constitution and international treaties.
In just eight months of 2025, fifteen migrants have died in immigration detention centers — ten of them between January and June — marking the deadliest period in recent history. Adding to the tragedy, 1,200 detainees have gone missing from the Everglades Detention Center, also known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” with families and lawyers unaware of their whereabouts.
Despite mounting pressure and growing outrage over Trump’s immigration policies, the current administration maintains the same stance on deportations.
In a briefing help by American Community Media (ACoM), experts discussed the daily challenges faced by immigrants, the lack of oversight and basic safety in detention centers, and the community-based solutions that could address these systemic problems.
“The Trauma Is the Point”: Inhumane Conditions Inside Detention Centers
Attorney Heather Hogan, from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), opened the panel by denouncing the inhumane conditions inside ICE detention facilities. She described the treatment of asylum seekers as identical to that of prisoners, despite the fact that, according to official data, most have not committed any crime.
“Officers refer to detainees as ‘bodies.’ The system strips them of their humanity,” Hogan said, noting that both private security guards and ICE officers refer to detainees as if they were corpses.
Hogan recounted harrowing scenes: people being awakened at 3:30 a.m. for crucial interviews, guards mocking detainees, or placing them in solitary confinement — a practice the United Nations has classified as torture. She also warned that isolation disproportionately affects transgender people and those living with HIV, who are allegedly separated “for their own protection.”
“Detention exacerbates the trauma of those who already fled violence. Many develop mental disorders or contemplate suicide,” she added.
According to Hogan, the federal government uses detention centers as a means to pressure immigrants into abandoning their cases and giving up their stay in the United States. She described this as a form of systemic violence, asserting that cruelty has become a deliberate policy: “The trauma is the point. Separating people from their families is the goal.”
Hogan emphasized that media visibility is key to confronting this systemic abuse: “Sharing personal stories — not just statistics — is what mobilizes communities. We must show what happens inside detention centers, even when it hurts.”
Record Number of Deaths Under ICE Custody
Attorney Andrew Free, who has worked with families and individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2017, spoke bluntly about the surge in deaths and the worsening conditions in U.S. immigration detention centers. “When I started, I got a call from the family of James Lynch, who died by suicide in detention. It was one of the most painful cases of the past eight years,” he recalled.
According to Free, fiscal year 2025 has seen 22 deaths in ICE custody — the highest figure since 2004. “The largest number occurred in Florida, particularly at the Chrome Detention Center, where there was overcrowding, staff shortages, and women sleeping on buses,” he explained. Texas ranks second, while Louisiana, despite housing many detainees, “hasn’t had a single death in custody, which is interesting.”
Free maintains a public database tracking deaths in detention, which contrasts with ICE’s official data. “At least five people who died in fiscal year 2025 are not included in ICE’s public statements,” he said. In his view, this points to severe underreporting and structural deficiencies in the official records. “I don’t think anyone truly knows how many people have died under ICE custody,” he stated.
“What gives us hope,” Free concluded, “is educating the public through a free press. That’s the only way to provide context and reveal what’s really happening.”
Medical Negligence and Secret Deportations
The final speaker, attorney Yannick Gill from Refugee Advocacy and Human Rights First, condemned the growing opacity and inhumane conditions in U.S. immigration detention centers. “We are talking about medical negligence, psychological abuse, and prolonged detentions. This violates both domestic law and international treaties,” she said.
Gill recounted that, following the death of a detainee at the Moshannon Valley Center, her organization requested an inspection visit alongside members of Congress — but ICE denied them entry. “Denying Congress access is a constitutional violation,” she denounced.
She also warned about secret agreements to deport migrants to third countries, including El Salvador, Panama, and Rwanda. “People are being sent to foreign prisons without oversight. It’s a pattern of outsourcing and abuse,” she stated.
Finally, Gill cautioned that the official rhetoric is sliding into political persecution: “Trump uses the word ‘terrorist’ to label activists, human rights defenders, and LGBTQ+ communities. What’s coming next isn’t just immigration raids — it’s political raids.”