Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson wants to examine conditions at a Miami immigrant detention center, saying she’s concerned about reports of people sleeping on concrete floors.
Wilson, who represents part of Miami-Dade County, sent a letter Monday to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem requesting her help in arranging a congressional visit this month to the Krome North Service Processing Center.
“I have heard directly from immigration lawyers about the unacceptable conditions at Krome, including reports of individuals sleeping on the concrete floor, detainees being deprived of adequate food, and female detainees being held in a facility designated for men,” Wilson wrote in her letter. “These alarming accounts illustrate the urgent need for me to exercise my duty of congressional oversight and intervention.”
Wilson led a visit to Krome during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2019.
The request followed reports that Felipe Zapata Velásquez, an immigrant on a student visa enrolled at the University of Florida, was arrested on March 28 and taken to Krome for driving with an expired license and registration tag, according to The Independent Florida Alligator.
Zapata Velásquez did not appear in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement online detainee locator system as of Monday afternoon. His mother told Colombian news outlet NTN24 that the student, who had been in the country for six years, had opted to self-deport after immigration officials said he would remain detained while making his case in court.
Gainesville Democratic state Rep. Yvonne Hinson called the arrest saddening.
“Did registration and an expired license fall under the scope of arrest and detainment? After 3 Special Sessions on Immigration and cases such as this, immigrants are under attack now more than ever. We must speak up and not allow this to continue without voicing outrage,” she wrote in a press release.
–Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
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