Cuban migrants at Krome Detention Center spell out 'SOS' in protest
By Sergio R. Bustos
June 5, 2025 at 8:25 PM EDT
A large group of Cuban migrants held at the Krome Detention Center are protesting their detention by spelling out “SOS” with their bodies on the grounds of the facility in south Miami-Dade.
Local media outlets in South Florida reported Thursday that the Cuban detainees are angry that they are being held without being told when they may be released and fear they may be transferred to other immigrant detention facilities outside the U.S.
NBC6 South Florida broadcast a video from Chopper6 overhead the facility showing the detainees in white spelled out "SOS" with their bodies. NBC6 reported the detainees used towels to spell "CUBA” on the facility’s grounds.
One detainee told reporters that Cubans were planning to start a hunger strike to protest being transferred to other immigrant detention centers.
READ MORE: Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz finds 'incredibly disturbing' conditions at Krome
“It’s an injustice,” one detainee said. “We don’t want to be moved to another prison.”
Krome has drawn the attention of human rights groups and South Florida congressional members who have criticized the living conditions of hundreds of migrants being held at the large facility.
The Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice reported in April to the United Nations Human Rights Council with direct testimony from immigrants “who suffered appalling and shocking treatment at the Krome Detention Center in violation of basic human rights.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Miami Herald on Thursday that the demonstration was peaceful and under control.
“There has been no injuries or use of force of any kind during this demonstration. At no point has Krome been under lockdown, and administrative operations continue as scheduled,” the spokesperson said.
The number of Cubans who are targeted for deportation has risen dramatically since President Donald Trump took office in January and pledged to end temporary immigration programs that had allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live and work in the country.
Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million.
The justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. That humanitarian parole program was launched by the former Biden administration but is being dismantled by the Trump administration.
Local media outlets in South Florida reported Thursday that the Cuban detainees are angry that they are being held without being told when they may be released and fear they may be transferred to other immigrant detention facilities outside the U.S.
NBC6 South Florida broadcast a video from Chopper6 overhead the facility showing the detainees in white spelled out "SOS" with their bodies. NBC6 reported the detainees used towels to spell "CUBA” on the facility’s grounds.
One detainee told reporters that Cubans were planning to start a hunger strike to protest being transferred to other immigrant detention centers.
READ MORE: Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz finds 'incredibly disturbing' conditions at Krome
“It’s an injustice,” one detainee said. “We don’t want to be moved to another prison.”
Krome has drawn the attention of human rights groups and South Florida congressional members who have criticized the living conditions of hundreds of migrants being held at the large facility.
The Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice reported in April to the United Nations Human Rights Council with direct testimony from immigrants “who suffered appalling and shocking treatment at the Krome Detention Center in violation of basic human rights.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Miami Herald on Thursday that the demonstration was peaceful and under control.
“There has been no injuries or use of force of any kind during this demonstration. At no point has Krome been under lockdown, and administrative operations continue as scheduled,” the spokesperson said.
The number of Cubans who are targeted for deportation has risen dramatically since President Donald Trump took office in January and pledged to end temporary immigration programs that had allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live and work in the country.
Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million.
The justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. That humanitarian parole program was launched by the former Biden administration but is being dismantled by the Trump administration.