Miranda hadn’t had access to immigration attorneys, Ortiz added.
Miranda’s allegations echo other detainees’ accounts. Leamsy Izquierdo, also known as Leamsy La Figura, a self-described Cuban urban artist, has been at the detention center since Friday.
“There is no water here to bathe,” Izquierdo said in Spanish to Telemundo 51 from inside the facility, adding it’s been four days since he showered. Izquierdo also alleged that “they give you food only once a day, food that even has worms in it.” Detention center lights are always on, 24/7, he said, and the mosquitoes are “the size of elephants.”
Izquierdo said they are not allowed to go outside, and the tents detainees are kept in are freezing.
According to Izquierdo’s partner, he’s a permanent resident. He was sent to the facility following assault and battery charges involving a dispute with a tow company worker; he’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Several other detainees at the facility have made similar complaints. A Colombian national said he’s been there for three days without access to medicine he needs.
Stephanie Hartman, deputy director of communications for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in an email to NBC South Florida that “the reporting on the conditions in the facility is completely false. The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order.”
NBC South Florida also reached out to ICE, but a spokesperson said they cannot talk about detainees who are not in one of their facilities. The Everglades detention center is run by the state.
The Florida Immigration Coalition is urging Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to file a lawsuit against the state, with the hopes that the detention center will be shut down.
Levine Cava, a Democrat, sent a letter to the Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, stating the land owned by the county has been “commandeered” by the state and requesting access to the facility. She asked for “weekly site reports summarizing conditions at the facility,” remote video monitoring access and scheduled site visits by a small oversight team so it can check for compliance, safety and possible environmental impacts.
