Relatives of gravely ill detainees at two Florida immigration jails say authorities are about to deport their loved ones to unknown countries in Africa despite worsening medical conditions.
Flights are scheduled as early as Wednesday, according to the families and the immigration advocacy group the Workers Circle, which has been monitoring conditions and speaking with detainees inside two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in south Florida.
The group said multiple sick detainees with varying conditions have been targeted for imminent deportation, and learned about the operation only in the last few days.
“I received a call from several detainees letting me know that men were being pulled in to interviews with deportation agents, where they were being informed that because of their medical conditions, Mexico would not be accepting their entry, and they will be sent to Africa,” Arianne Betancourt, the group’s immigrant rights organizer, said at a Tuesday night press conference.
“We know that once they are deported and sent to these third countries, they are not receiving medical care in detention. They have difficulties getting medicine.”
The affected detainees are at the Krome North processing center in Miami, which was found to be experiencing severe overcrowding by a government inspector’s report last month, and the Broward transitional center in Pompano Beach. Both facilities are privately run on behalf of ICE.
Anisley Cortés, the wife of Noslén Sendra, a ۴۱-year-old Cuban national, said her husband has been incarcerated since last November, first at the now closed “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail, and at Krome since April. She said he has uncontrolled diabetes and acute pancreatitis that resulted in a weeks-long hospital stay earlier this year.
“He lost over ۵۰ pounds. They wouldn’t give him his medication, and they would not give him enough food. It was a nightmare of a time for all of us,” she said. “He is very sick and needs the right healthcare.
“Cuba will not accept him as a deportee, and we now have proof that Mexico will not accept him as a deportee because he is so sick. And so they told him that because he could not be accepted at either of those two countries, ‘Oh well, we’re going to have to send you to Africa’.
“They told him that Mexico would not accept him because he has too many medications that he requires, and so they said, ‘Well, we have to deport you anyway’. We’re left with the uncertainty of not knowing how he is, or if we’ll see him again.”
Shalyn Fluharty, an immigration rights attorney, said information from the detainees indicated deportation flights were imminent.
“We understand that just this week, within a couple of days, likely Thursday and Friday, there will be two flights going to Africa, in particular to the Central African Republic, and we also believe Burundi,” she said.
Fluharty said previously deported immigrants were shackled at their hands, ankles and waists during lengthy flights, and some who complained were placed in full body wraps with no ability to move.
“This is what we anticipate will be happening this week for these individuals, based upon what we’ve seen in the past,” she said.
“Travel can last sometimes up to ۲۴ hours. What if you’re somebody who has a heart condition? Who has a high risk of stroke? Who is experiencing diabetes and requires regular access to food or insulin? These conditions take your already vulnerable medical state and make them, unfortunately, often life-threatening.”
Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the homeland security department demanded to know the affected detainees’ personal information. The department did not respond further when provided with Sendra’s details.
Betancourt said families risked retaliation for their relatives by coming forward. “This is not a single one-off story,” she said.
“The inspector general’s report confirmed that there is a lack of medical care inside of the Krome detention facility. Families have been demanding oversight, and every day they are experiencing real fear to speak up and advocate for their loved ones.”
During two unannounced visits to Krome in May, government inspectors found multiple violations of noncompliance with detention standards, including severe overcrowding. Holding ۱,۱۰۲ detainees in a facility with a maximum capacity of ۸۸۲, the report said, “jeopardizes the safe and orderly operations within the facility”.
Other listed violations included an inadequate number of operational toilets, sinks, and showers, and previous complaints included female detainees made to use toilets in full view of men, and arriving detainees held for more than ۲۴ hours in a bus in the parking lot because of a lack of space.
Advocates say Donald Trump’s massive second term immigration crackdown has caused overcrowding in detention centers nationwide that DHS has attempted to alleviate by ramping up deportation flights to so-called third countries.
The controversial practice, approved by the US supreme court last month, has seen hundreds of detainees deported to at least a dozen African countries where they have no ties.
A Human Rights Watch report earlier this month found countless examples of abusive treatment during and after the flights, and detainees subjected to persecution, arbitrary incarceration and torture following their arrival.
