Migrants held in US detention facilities under the Donald Trump administration’s intensified immigration crackdown are being subjected to inhumane treatment that violates both domestic and international standards, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report.

The report, published Monday, paints a harrowing picture of systemic abuse across three detention centres in Florida, namely, Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center (BTC), and the Federal Detention Center (FDC).

Detainees interviewed describe being shackled for hours without food or water, forced to sleep on cold concrete floors, and routinely denied access to medical or mental health care.

As of June 2025, more than 56,000 migrants were held in detention across the United States. This is 40 per cent higher than the previous year and the highest number on record.

At Krome alone, the population surged by 249 per cent within weeks of Trump’s second inauguration, at times exceeding three times the centre's capacity.

‘Hands shackled, forced to kneel while eating’

One of the most harrowing accounts describes migrants being forced to kneel and eat off chairs with their mouths while their hands were shackled behind their backs, treated like animals. Women were confined in men’s facilities without access to clean toilets or basic sanitation. Medical emergencies were routinely ignored, including the case of a woman with gallstones who collapsed after being denied care and was returned to her cell after emergency surgery with no pain medication.

Staff were reported to have shut off CCTV feeds during incidents of unrest, and detainees seeking mental health support were punished with solitary confinement. “If you cry, they might take you away for two weeks,” a woman told HRW.

The lack of basic care is not just degrading—it has turned deadly. The report links at least two deaths in custody to substandard medical attention.

The findings also document a broader climate of fear. Many migrants, including those without criminal records, are now too afraid to attend appointments at immigration offices, churches, or even hospitals, fearing arrest and detention.

These abuses appear to violate the United States' own detention standards, as well as international human rights treaties such as the Convention Against Torture and the UN Mandela Rules for treatment of prisoners.

Human Rights Watch has urged the US government to end the use of detention as a default response to immigration violations, dismantle agreements that entangle local law enforcement with ICE operations, and ensure access to legal counsel, medical care, and due process.

For many detainees, however, the damage is already done. “You feel like your life is over,” said one man who was never charged with a crime but was detained for over two months. “They treat you like garbage. It’s psychological abuse.”