Latest news with #HarpinderChauhan
CBS News
22-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Human rights groups allege "inhumane" conditions at South Florida immigration facilities
A coalition of human rights organizations released a report Monday alleging that conditions at three immigration detention facilities in South Florida are "inhumane," with claims that detainees are overcrowded, denied medical care and subjected to degrading treatment—accusations the facility operators firmly deny. The report, published by Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South, outlines disturbing allegations about the Krome Detention Center, the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Miami, and the Broward Transitional Center. Harpinder Chauhan, a deported former detainee from England, shared his experience with CBS News Miami after being returned to the United Kingdom on June 6, 2025. "There was no lack of human dignity or the situation that we were in," Chauhan said. "It's soul-destroying." Chauhan, who said he had lived legally in the United States for nine years on an investor visa, was picked up by ICE agents on February 11 for theft of sales taxes—a charge he said he was already repaying. "We are not criminals here; we are people waiting on a process," Chauhan said. He said he was first taken to Krome and later transferred to FDC Miami, where he described extreme conditions. "My room didn't have AC. Sometimes I'd lie on the floor just to gasp the cold air through the door. We'd be locked in the cell five days at a time," he said. Chauhan also alleged the toilet in his cell did not work and claimed he was denied medication for multiple health conditions, including heart disease, pancreatitis and diabetes. He said he later collapsed after being moved to the Broward Transitional Center. "Eventually I collapsed about 5 days after the arrival there," said Chauhan. Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director with Human Rights Watch, contributed to the report and said detainees described being forced to eat in humiliating conditions. "I interviewed two men who were put in this position, both of them who spoke about how deeply degrading it was that they had to essentially eat like animals," Wille said. "People told us they were held in mass overcrowded cells and conditions they had limited access to basic hygiene, showers, bathrooms, soap even," Wille added. In response, a spokesperson for the GEO Group, which operates the Broward Transitional Center, issued a lengthy statement denying the accusations. "GEO strongly denies these allegations. We are proud of the role our company has played for 40 years to support the law enforcement mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)," the statement read in part. The company emphasized that its facilities are not overcrowded and offer around-the-clock medical care, access to legal and family visitation, religious accommodations, and accredited healthcare services. "Our contracts also set strict limits on a facility's capacity. Simply put, our facilities are never overcrowded," the company said. The operator of Krome Detention Center told Human Rights Watch it could not comment publicly on the specifics of its engagement. CBS News Miami reached out to ICE for comment but has not received a response.
The National
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Migrants at US detention centre forced to eat ‘like dogs', report says
Migrants at a detention centre in Florida were forced to eat 'like dogs' with their hands tied behind their backs, according to a report published on Monday. The report by Human Rights Watch, which gathered testimony from detainees, relatives and lawyers, documented a series of alleged abuses at three facilities in southern Florida and said people were subjected to degrading treatment, a lack of medical care and overcrowding. Former detainee Harpinder Chauhan, a 56-year-old British entrepreneur and father of two, recounted an incident in April in which he said dozens of men were denied food for hours. They were crammed into a single cell with their feet shackled and their hands tied behind their backs. Food was eventually given to them on chairs, but they remained restrained, said Mr Chauhan, who Human Rights watch said was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody because of problems with his taxes. 'We had to bend over and eat off the chairs with our mouths, like dogs,' said Mr Chauhan. He was eventually deported back to the UK. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Human Rights Watch, Mr Chauhan had lived in the US since 2016 and first entered the country on an E-2 investors visa. ICE officers detained him on February 11 after he ran into tax problems. He and other former and current detainees paint a picture of filthy, overcrowded facilities where migrants are treated poorly. One woman described being held at Krome North Service Processing Centre, which is usually reserved for men in South Florida. 'There was only one toilet, and it was covered in faeces,' she said. 'We begged the officers to let us clean it, but they just said sarcastically, 'Housekeeping will come soon.' No one ever came.' Another man said the intake centre he was kept in was freezing. 'They turned up the air conditioning … You could not fall asleep because it was so cold. I thought I was going to experience hypothermia,' he said. Under President Donald Trump, the number of people detained by ICE has increased dramatically as he continues to crack down on illegal immigration. As of late last month, an average of 56,000 people were being held in immigration detention centres per day, a 40 per cent increase from the same time last year and the highest in US history.
