Detainees forced to eat shackled 'like dogs' during transfer, subjected to unjustified invasive searches at FDC
April 2025·Location: Miami, FL
Country of origin: Guatemala
During a transfer in mid-April, dozens of men were gathered into a cell early in the morning with feet shackled and hands tied behind their backs. They waited hours while food sat visible through bars. When lunch was provided at 7 p.m. — only after another guard protested — the men could not reach plates with their hands. 'We had to bend over and eat off the chairs with our mouths, like dogs,' one man said. At FDC, upon arrival and after visits including from legal counsel, officers forced detainees to undergo invasive visual cavity searches. A 21-year-old Guatemalan man described being ordered to 'get completely naked, turn around, bend down, and get on all fours and cough.' An officer later admitted ICE detainees did not need such procedures.
Sources
- “You Feel Like Your Life Is Over”
hrw.org·Jul 21, 2025·archived copy
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