MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Lawmakers and local leaders came together in Miramar Wednesday to demand answers after a whistleblower’s account of cruel and dangerous conditions inside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Immigration advocates’ calls for accountability and action took place outside the ICE facility along Southwest 145th Avenue, Wednesday morning.
“This is inhumane, this is wrong, and obviously, there are people who know about it, who feel the same way, who work inside because there was a whistleblower,” said Yareliz Mendez-Zamora with the organization American Friends Service Committee.
The gathering comes days after the whistleblower report was released by Democratic members of Congress. The document raises serious questions about the conditions inside ICE facilities in Miramar and Orlando.
“Anyone who walks through these doors deserves dignity,” said activist Pastor David.
A man who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera told 7News he was held inside the Miramar facility for several days, and he faced inhumane conditions firsthand.
“No shower, we were using Porta Potties, and I believe the food was expired as well, too. It wasn’t the best. And they had us sleeping on the floor or on the chair, handcuffed, legs and hands 24/7,” he said. “I feel weird due to the fact that I’ve been here for 12 years, no criminal record, no nothing. I worked for the government and all, too, and it’s just like, y’all treat me like a criminal. I was handcuffed 24/7.”
This treatment isn’t uncommon at the ICE facility in Miramar, he shared.
“They said my status was I was illegal here, but that was wrong,” he said. “I had all my paperwork.”
The whistleblower report includes photos that lawmakers said show overcrowding, filthy restrooms and detainees sleeping on concrete floors, while some of them are in shackles. Some of the participants in Wednesday’s gathering held up some of these blown-up images.
“We are asking for elected officials to do their job,” said Paul Namphy of the Family Action Network Movement.
The Department of Homeland Security disputes the characterization of the Miramar facility, saying it is a processing facility, not a detention facility, and that people are processed there before being transferred to permanent housing at detention facilities.
The DHS has released a statement saying, “If you break the law, you will face consequences.”
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.