Hundreds protest outside Miami’s Krome Detention Center over ‘inhumane’ conditions
Hundreds of people gathered at the corner of Southwest 177th Avenue and 12th Street, holding signs and chanting outside the overcrowded Krome Detention Center entrance on Saturday. The protest came as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown funneled people into the Miami facility.
Reports of inhumane conditions inside Krome — where detainees face overcrowding and lack necessities such as beds, food, and medical care — fueled Saturday’s demonstration outside the detention center.
READ MORE: ‘Inhumane:’ Overcrowding strains Krome detention center amid Trump’s immigrant crackdown
The protest, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., initially started with only a handful of people near the Miccosukee Casino. Organizers had received permission from the Tribe for protesters to park there, but police soon ordered them to leave.
As it grew, hundreds of demonstrators filled the space near the detention center’s entrance while passing cars and trucks honked in support.
Martin Vidal, 31, an organizer with the South Florida chapter of 50501 — a political action group that co-organized the protest — said their primary goal was to oppose Krome and the “human rights abuses going on there.”
“Miami-Dade is as metropolitan as it comes,” said Vidal, born and raised in South Florida. “Immigration is what’s given the city the life and vibrancy that it has, and to see this happening here to people that just came here to be a part of the American experience and have a better life is disgusting.”
‘People deserve humane treatment’
Organizers came prepared with bullhorns and designated chanters to lead the crowd. The main chanter was Obsidian Tiburon, a Taino representative of the American Indian Movement who came down from Orlando to attend the protest.
Tiburon said that as soon as they heard of “the horrid conditions in there [Krome]” they started a group chat with other activists in Florida to organize the
“People deserve humane treatment no matter what, no matter who they are,” said Tiburon.
They led many of the chants, such as “No one is illegal, power to the people,” and “The people united, will never be defeated.”
“In my indigenous culture, Taino, often we pray through song and voice and music. Chants are not only a way to let the world know what it is that we want and what we demand but a way for us to have community solidarity,” Tiburon said.
Nicholas Bissanti, 32, an organizer with Florida Valkyries — a social justice group — which led Saturday’s protest.
“Florida has historically been a swing state, and, you know, you can see in the last election, especially, it went very red.”
He said one of the group’s goals in organizing events such as protests is to bring back a sense of community.
“People can start to feel disheartened when they see everything’s red around them, and they feel like they’re just a little blue dot in a big sea of red,” he said.
Meghan Francisco, 40, from St. Petersburg, learned about the protest through TikTok and drove down to attend.
“America is founded on a fundamental right of free speech, which includes the right to protest, the right to assemble, and I think it’s extraordinarily important that we exercise that right,” Francisco said.
Many protesters held signs featuring people detained by ICE, including Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University student who was taken into custody earlier this month in Manhattan.
Others carried signs highlighting South Florida locals, such as Eduardo Nuñez Gonzalez, a Cuban man detained by ICE while taking out his trash in North Miami. His wife reported that during his time at Krome, he was deprived of food, water, and a bed before being transferred to another detention center in New Mexico.
READ MORE: Cuban detained by ICE while taking out his trash in North Miami; family demands answers
“I think we are going through a period of escalation of violence towards immigrants,” said Leo Gonzalez, 25, who was holding one of the signs. “We cannot let immigrants in this country be harassed by ICE and be kidnapped.”
Among the crowd was former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson, holding a sign that read, “We are not Nazi Germany.”
She said she was outraged after reading a Miami Herald article about conditions at Krome and felt compelled to attend the protest.
“It’s just so despicable that people are lying on the floor, not able to even have beds, to sleep in toilets, to use food or water,” Sorenson said.
“It’s the federal government that’s doing this here in our county, but we need all our local elected officials to rise up and say, ‘This can’t happen in our county,’” she added.
The protest continued into the afternoon, even as rain began to fall.
“What we need is everyone paying attention,” said Vidal. “You look out and you see people being treated as worse than human, then it’s the obligation of everyone to come, speak out, join us.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 2:08 PM.