Inhumane conditions ripple from federal detention to Wisconsin communities, straining courts
In Wisconsin, legal aid organizations report a surge in calls from family members trying to locate loved ones in custody.
When José was detained at Florida’s Everglades Detention Facility, he was confined in a metal enclosure barely larger than a washing machine. The heat was relentless, sunlight unyielding, and swarms of insects merciless. Shackled to the floor for hours, he had no access to water, shade, or medical care.
“I felt like I didn’t exist. They wanted to break us, to make us disappear,” said José (not his real name),
José’s experience, documented in a September 2025 Amnesty International report, is far from unique. Across the U.S., immigration detention facilities face repeated criticism for systemic abuses – from Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” to suburban processing centers in Illinois. Even Wisconsin communities, without large facilities, feel the ripple effects through sudden arrests, deportations, and disrupted court cases.
Other detainees reported similarly harrowing conditions. At a Florida facility, a woman described going five days without a shower while her medical requests went unanswered. In Illinois, another detainee recounted sleeping next to overflowing toilets, unable to access clean water or hygiene supplies. Advocates say these accounts reflect systemic neglect rather than isolated incidents.
National Spotlight: Florida and Illinois
Amnesty International detailed extreme conditions at Florida’s Everglades Detention Facility and Krome North Service Processing Center. Detainees described tiny “punishment boxes,” oppressive heat, overcrowding, 24-hour lighting, and limited access to food, water, or medical care.
In Illinois, the Broadview ICE Processing Center has faced multiple legal challenges. Reports included:
- Forced to sleep on the floor or on top of one another
- Contaminated, undrinkable water
- Infrequent showers and limited hygiene supplies
- Pressure to sign documents under misleading circumstances
- Physical assaults and use of chemical agents against peaceful protesters
- Targeting journalists and union members recording events
Federal judges intervened. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman stated: “People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets. They should not be sleeping on top of each other.” Yet compliance remains under close scrutiny.
Wisconsin: The Local Human Impact
While Wisconsin has no large detention centers, local immigrant communities face sudden arrests and deportations, disrupting families and criminal cases. Legal aid organizations report a surge in calls from family members trying to locate loved ones in custody.
In Fond du Lac County, Stacey Murillo Martinez scraped together $1,500 to post bail for her husband Miguel — only for ICE to take him into custody shortly afterward. Months later, Miguel remained detained near Terre Haute, Indiana, missing court dates and prompting bench warrants.
“Right now, as I go through this situation… there’s no one to take care of her,” Miguel Murillo said.
Stacey, undergoing breast cancer treatment, relied on her husband to keep their household afloat.
Between January and July 2025, ICE records show over 130 arrests in Wisconsin county jails, with nearly 40% of detainees awaiting rulings in their first criminal case. Courts face cases without defendants present, victims unable to testify, and thousands in forfeited bail.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne explained: “It wasn’t their unwillingness to show up … We don’t necessarily know when a person is in custody.”
Other Wisconsin residents shared similar fears. A Racine mother recounted ICE officers taking her brother shortly after posting bail, leaving her family scrambling to care for her young children. “We felt powerless,” she said.
Legal Challenges
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is weighing a lawsuit by Voces de la Frontera and the ACLU challenging ICE detainers in county jails. Federal ICE agents can request sheriffs hold detainees for 48 hours beyond state law to allow federal transfer. The lawsuit contends this is an illegal “new arrest.”
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, said: “It is a step in the right direction for equal protection under the law for all.”
A decision could come by spring 2026.
Community Resistance in Milwaukee
Activists from Voces de la Frontera, Comité Sin Fronteras, and Never Again Action–Wisconsin have protested a new ICE facility on Milwaukee’s Northwest Side. Speakers marched, gave speeches, and highlighted the lack of community input. Ald. Larresa Taylor stated: “You may be here, but you are not welcome here.”
Advocates argue funds should support local schools, healthcare, and food programs instead of detention infrastructure.
A Call for Humane Treatment
From Florida to Illinois to Wisconsin, human rights organizations, court orders, and detainee testimonies reveal a pattern of abuse, neglect, and dehumanization. Advocates insist humane, rights-respecting immigration policies are essential to uphold the nation’s legal and moral standards.
“Immigration enforcement cannot operate outside the rule of law or exempt itself from human rights standards,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International Regional Director for the Americas. “What we are seeing in Florida should alarm the entire region.”
Inhumane conditions ripple from federal detention to Wisconsin communities, straining courts © 2025 by Jean Kiernan Detjen is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Sources
Amnesty International, Torture and enforced disappearances in the Sunshine State, Dec. 4, 2025
Wisconsin Watch, Courts left with loose ends when ICE detains criminal defendants, Nov. 21, 2025
WISN 12 News, Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule on ICE detainers in county jails, Dec. 3, 2025
Wisconsin Examiner, Protesters demonstrate outside new ICE detention building in Milwaukee, Nov. 17, 2025
Associated Press, Judge orders improvements at a Chicago-area immigration facility, Nov. 5, 2025
Reuters, Federal judge orders clean toilets, access to lawyers for ICE detainees, Nov. 5, 2025
The Guardian, Illinois advocates sue over ‘torturous’ conditions at ICE facility, Oct. 31, 2025
