Migrants protest their detention in Miami

Dozens of Cuban migrants, detained at a facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miami, staged a protest June 5 over deteriorating conditions at this immigration facility and others in Florida. They lined up in the recreation yard of the Krome Detention Center in Southwest Miami-Dade and used their bodies to spell out SOS — an internationally recognized signal of distress in radio code. The protest was caught by local news helicopters.

Detainees at Krome ICE-run detention center use their bodies to spell out SOS. Miami-Dade, Florida, June 5, 2025.

Jasmine Garsd, with NPR’s Morning Edition, who has been covering conditions at the ICE facilities for months, reported: “This facility has had problems for years, and right now we’re seeing severe overcrowding. Detainees have reported illnesses [and] limited access to medication.”

Family members who have spoken out about the harsh conditions at Krome reported the lack of food and water. A woman named Maria, who asked that her last name not be used, told Garsd that her brother, who was detained at Krome, had a serious eye infection with a fever for two weeks but had received no medical treatment.

Garsd noted that even though the ICE facilities in Florida are at 125% capacity, the Trump administration is planning even more arrests. In April, Trump shut down three Department of Homeland Security oversight offices charged with investigating claims of abuse in ICE-run centers.

In March, Trump revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 300,000 Cuban migrants, and many were detained ahead of possible deportation. (AP News, June 5)