United States – This week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported the death of Maksym Chernayak, 44, who died in ICE custody on February 20 after being detained at the Krome Service and Processing Center in Florida. Chernakyak’s tragic passing marks the third reported death in ICE custody since Donald Trump assumed the presidency. Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, 45, died on January 29 in ICE custody after being detained at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, and Genry Ruiz Guillen, 29, died on January 23 after being detained at the Krome Service Processing Center. Three deaths in ICE custody in just over a month of Trump’s presidency marks the most deaths to occur in this fiscal year time period since 2020.
The Trump administration is dangerously moving full steam ahead with unprecedented plans to expand the immigration detention system. There are already over 41,000 people locked up in ICE custody – if Trump’s multi-pronged detention expansion plan is realized, it will triple the detention system’s capacity and exacerbate deadly conditions inherent to the system, including medical neglect, abuse, and a lack of transparency. The Eloy Detention Center and Krome Detention Center are prime examples of how the system as a whole is rife with abuse.
Snapshot of abuse:
- The Krome Service Processing Center (Krome) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, has a long record of abuse, which only increased after the facility was privatized in 2008. In 2021, nine Black immigrants in federal custody filed a civil rights complaint with the Biden administration, speaking out against a disturbing pattern of anti-Black racism and abuse at Krome. Advocates with The UndocuBlack Network, Haitian Bridge Alliance, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and Freedom for Immigrants submitted the complaint with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL).
- The Eloy Detention Center (Eloy) in Arizona has gained notoriety as one of the deadliest detention centers in the U.S. with at least 16 reported deaths, including five suicides. Opened in 1994, Eloy currently has the capacity to detain 1,550 people. From October 2022 to September 2024, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Project has filed 53 complaints to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO). In a February 2024 submission, they detailed worsening conditions despite a recent investigation by CRCL.
Immigrant justice advocates working to shut down the Krome and Eloy detention centers offered the following statements:
Liz Casey, Social Worker at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, said:
“Years of complaints and reports show that human rights abuses and medical neglect have always been rampant at the Eloy Detention Center. For decades the Florence Project has seen firsthand how the mistreatment of immigrants in detention centers has led to serious medical and mental health conditions, dangerous deterioration of preexisting conditions, and deaths. With the current administration and likely expansion of detention, we sadly expect to continue to see even more abuses, neglect, and deaths in ICE custody. It is past time that our elected officials recognize the systemic violation of people's rights and the inherent inhumanity of immigration detention. We must push for an immigration system that is humane and respects immigrants' rights and dignity."
Marcela Hernandez, Organizing and Membership Director at Detention Watch Network, said:
“Lives are in jeopardy in immigration detention – full stop. The tragic passing of three people in ICE custody in just over a month underscores that detention is deadly. Trump’s multi-layered detention expansion plan will exacerbate a system that is rife with abuse, undoubtedly leading to more tragedies while tearing apart families and costing taxpayers greatly. It will also increase the targeting and racial profiling of people within their communities based on what they look like, the language they speak, and where they work. This moment demands a national outcry — our elected officials cannot remain silent on Trump’s excessive cruelty. Rather, they must vocally oppose this mass detention and deportation agenda by denying Trump the resources he needs to carry out his plans, including by cutting funds to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
Vilerka Bilbao, Baker Committee Chair and Board Member of American Immigration Lawyer’s Association Central Florida Chapter and founder of Bilbao Law, said:
“The government’s reckless refusal to release individuals from detention—despite clear humanitarian concerns—demonstrates a blatant disregard for human life. Prolonged and unnecessary detention in unsafe conditions puts migrants at severe risk of illness, abuse, and even death. This negligence is not just inhumane—it is a legal and moral failure that makes the government directly liable for the harm and fatalities that occur under its watch. The United States must uphold its commitment to human rights and due process by ensuring that detention is not used as a weapon of cruelty, but only when absolutely necessary.”
Maria Bilbao, Campaign coordinator with American Friends Service Committee Florida, said:
“Immigration detention poses significant risks to lives, as evidenced by the recent deaths of three individuals in ICE custody. Trump's plan to expand this system will only worsen the abuses, and tear families apart. Elected officials in Florida must have the courage to stand on the right side during these dark times and oppose this mass detention and deportation strategy by speaking out against it.”
Amy Godshall, legal fellow and immigrants' rights attorney at the ACLU of Florida, said:
“For years, ICE detention has been characterized by unwarranted abuse, pervasive medical neglect, and intentional disrespect for the dignity of people in its custody, leading to many preventable and heartbreaking deaths. Over the past month, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people being detained by ICE across Florida, and Trump's border czar recently promised to lower the standards required of ICE detention. This is a dangerous combination building upon an already deadly system. As the Trump administration and Florida state leaders seek to amplify this cruel mass deportation agenda, the scale of these preventable and devastating deaths in ICE custody will exponentially increase. We are sounding the alarm regarding this unacceptable system, and we must collectively hold those in power accountable.”
Katie Blankenship, Managing Partner for Sanctuary of the South (SOS) stated:
“The cruelty of the Trump administration’s attack on immigrants is nowhere more apparent than in ICE detention centers. Krome is but one example and it is not unique. There is rampant overcrowding, reports of individuals forced to sleep on floors, and even women being moved into the “all-male” detention center and forced to sleep overnight on buses. Trans women are also detained at Krome in the all-male population, as is standard in ICE detention, suffering incredible abuse and harm. While ICE concentrates on packing detention centers which only benefits the profit margins of the billionaire private prison companies that donated to the Trump campaign, it simultaneously denies basic needs and critical medical care. Such was the case with Maksym Chernayak, who according to people we’ve spoken to inside, had a seizure in the shower at Krome after being denied medical care and was likely brain-dead before ever being removed from the facility. These deaths are not only preventable, they are the product of the Trump administration’s rampant white supremacist and anti-immigrant discrimination. The movement must come together in solidarity to fight back against these human rights travesties if we are to prevent further deadly harm to our communities.”
###
Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.