HRW’s 92-page report alleges medical neglect, overcrowding and ‘inhuman’ cell conditions

US President Donald Trump (centre) visited a migrant detention centre, dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Ochopee, Florida on July 1. Photo / AFP

Immigrants held at United States detention centres have experienced abusive and degrading treatment, a Human Rights Watch report said today, in a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s migrant crackdown.

The 92-page report alleges medical neglect, overcrowding and “inhuman” cell conditions at a time when the Trump Administration is ramping up immigration enforcement with the promise of deporting millions.

“People in immigration detention are being treated as less than human,” Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW, said in a statement.

In one alleged instance, shackled detainees being prepared for a transfer had to kneel and eat food from styrofoam plates with their hands behind their backs.

“We had to put the plates on chairs and then bend down and eat with our mouths, like dogs,” one man was quoted as saying.

The report, which focuses on three facilities in Florida, cites migrants sleeping on concrete floors and using their shoes as pillows.

One man said he was denied access to soap or water to wash his hands for 20 consecutive days.

Another complained that he was not allowed his medications, including insulin and an asthma inhaler.

Some women reported being held in a cell with exposed toilets that were visible to men in nearby rooms.

HRW, a New York-based non-profit, documented the experiences of 17 immigrants for the report. Advocacy groups Americans for Immigrant Justice and Sanctuary of the South also contributed to the research.

Florida is notably home to a new detention centre dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” which Trump visited in July, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators will serve as guards.

The President has vowed to lead the largest migrant deportation programme in US history, and lawmakers this month voted to inject around US$45 billion into constructing immigration detention facilities.

Trump’s hardline migration policy was a key element of his presidential campaign but has also sparked protests in the US, which has the largest immigrant population in the world.

The average daily migrant detention population in the US has surged more than 40% since last June, according to the HRW report. It added that nearly 72% of individuals held as of mid-June had no criminal history.

“The US Government is detaining many people who pose no threat to public safety in conditions that violate basic human rights and dignity,” Wille said in a statement.

-Agence France-Presse