As U.S. Customs and Immigration (ICE) continues to ramp up its immigration enforcement under pressure from President Donald Trump, immigration detention centers across the country — including Krome — have found themselves plagued by reports of overcrowding and poor conditions.
Last week, a man who said he's detained at Krome posted a series of viral TikTok videos documenting the cramped conditions inside the west Miami facility. An attorney and ex-detainee who recently visited Krome told New Times they recently witnessed overcrowding, lack of food and water, and long waits for processing. Four women who were held at the all-male detention facility in February told USA Today they were treated "like animals." One woman said she wasn't fed for 36 hours, while another called the facility "Hell on Earth."
Now, people in South Florida plan to protest outside Krome this weekend to draw attention to the worsening conditions inside the facility.
Here's what to know about Krome Detention Center:
Where is Krome Detention Center?
Krome is located in a remote spot on the edge of the Everglades in Miami — more specifically, on the west side of Krome Avenue near Tamiami Trail. It's tucked away between lush green trees and sits directly across the street from an Everglades airboat tour company and the nine-story Miccosukee Casino & Resort.The address is 18201 SW 12th St, Miami, FL 33194.
What is Krome Detention Center?
Formally known as Krome North Service Processing Center, Krome is a federal immigration facility used for processing and detaining people apprehended by ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).When did the Miami ICE facility open?
While it was originally built in the 1960s as a missile base, it was repurposed in the 1980s during the Mariel boatlift and opened as an immigrant detention center in 1982.Who manages Krome?
Krome is privately run by Akima Infrastructure Protection, a massive federal government contractor, under a $685 million contract. Its facilities, including Krome, have long faced allegations of human rights abuses.The company reportedly has more than 2,000 contracts with the U.S. government. Last year, the Biden administration gave a subsidiary of Akima a contract to run the Guantánamo Migrant Operations Center.
What are some previous Krome controversies?
Krome has been the subject of troubling allegations of detainee abuse since its opening in the early 1980s.Most recently, in 2020, Muslim detainees at the facility said they were being forced to choose between eating pork or rotten halal meat. In 2021, nine Black immigrants, among them five Haitians, alleged a disturbing pattern of anti-Black racism and abuse at Krome, which included claims of discrimination and disparity in decisions on who gets released. That same year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) office of civil rights and civil liberties launched an investigation into complaints of inadequate medical and mental healthcare, sexual abuse and assault prevention, and environmental health and safety issues.
In 2024, the DHS' office of inspector general published a report documenting guards' unnecessary use of force on migrants.
Since December 2024, a person has died each month while in ICE custody at Krome.
The latest person to die at the facility was 44-year-old Ukranian Maksym Chernyak, whose wife told NBC 6 that she believes her husband was not properly cared for at Krome when he fell ill.
