Immigration advocates are warning undocumented immigrants to avoid unnecessary travel as they report what they describe as a surge in arrests and detentions across South Florida.
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“We are asking for folks who do not have an immigration status, please do not travel if you do not have to,” said Yareliz Mendez-Zamora of the American Friends Service Committee.
The concerns come as NBC News reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking contracts with four detention facilities, including one in Miami. According to documents obtained by NBC News, the federal agency is looking for a Miami-area facility with a minimum capacity of 700 beds.
Advocates say immigration enforcement operations have intensified throughout South Florida.
“We’re seeing enforcement operations hitting South Florida, all over Miami-Dade, Homestead,” said Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
The concerns are growing as Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Haitians comes to an end, affecting many people living in South Florida communities.
Outside the ICE detention facility in Miramar, Javier Garcia said he came to drop off clothing for two friends who were detained Tuesday.
According to Garcia, his friends told him access to showers inside the facility is limited.
Advocates also argue the facility is already overcrowded.
“The conditions inside are deplorable,” said Circle of Protection activist Sylvia Munoz.
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Concerns about conditions at the Miramar facility gained attention earlier this month after U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz made an unannounced visit. The South Florida congresswoman said she observed between 70 and 75 men being held in two holding areas with little privacy.
“So you know you’re having to make your way over to the corner and use the bathroom in front of, in the women’s case, 50 or so women,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Advocates say the effects of detentions are being felt by families throughout the community.
Lindsey McElroy of the Guatemalan-Maya Center shared the story of a child whose parents were taken into immigration custody.
“This child has had her father deported a month ago and just that morning her mother was detained as well,” McElroy said.
She said the Guatemalan-Maya Center has helped send 45 children back to their parents’ home countries.
According to ICE, nearly 6,000 people were booked in the Miami area during July.
An ICE spokesperson said that as of Sunday, July 26, approximately 4,300 people were being held in custody, providing a snapshot of the scale of immigration detention operations in South Florida.
The developments come amid continued concerns from advocates that increased enforcement activity will lead to more detentions and additional pressure on existing facilities in the region.
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