'I was an animal in a zoo': Venezuelan immigrant describes conditions during ICE detention
By Carlton Gillespie
August 4, 2026 at 10:46 AM EDT
A South Florida woman detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has described harrowing conditions at ICE facilities in Broward County after her release.
Claudia Rodriguez, 28, was released from ICE detention in Broward County on Monday afternoon, according to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who had lobbied for her release.
“Today, my heart is also with the many people in detention without the same support and visibility, and also the opportunity to have shared their stories and also be heard,” Rodriguez, said at a press conference Tuesday. “I hope this moment also shines a light on them, because this journey is just the beginning.”
READ MORE: Family, friends, congresswoman call for release of St. Thomas soccer captain from ICE custody
Rodriguez spoke to media Tuesday morning, wearing what looked to be an ankle monitor on her right foot.
Rodriguez lawfully moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2017 on a tourist visa, and within six months applied for asylum. She received Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, in 2023, and her asylum case is pending.
She was arrested last month by ICE agents at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. She was about to board a flight to North Carolina to visit friends and watch the World Cup Final with them.
Rodriguez was first sent to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office in Miramar. Despite ICE officials telling Wasserman Schultz that no detainee was kept at that facility for longer than 72 hours, Rodriguez was there for 8 days. She said conditions there made her feel "like I was an animal in a zoo."
"The floor was dirty, I think they only cleaned the room like twice, and they didn't clean the toilets. Every time we ask for water, they say 'go drink water in the sink.' Everyone was sleeping on the floor, I wasn't able to change clothes, no showers, no proper heating, toothbrush, and everything was in bad quality," she said.
"I felt dehumanized. All they did was give us food — sometimes it was expired; sometimes we’d open it and find mold," she added, in Spanish.
Friends and family of Claudia Carolina Rodriguez Caglianone wave signs outside of the Broward Transitional Center, a for-profit detention facility funded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Pompano Beach. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
At the Miramar facility, Rodriguez said that 47 women were confined to one small cell and that many, including Rodriguez, were forced to sleep on the floor. Rodriguez also said that women were denied medical care.
"There were people that had cancer, and they did the first chemo[therapy] before getting in, and they were not allowed to get the second chemo, and that's just one of many people that have other disease that aren't being able to keep their health," she said.
In Spanish, Rodriguez said these conditions led to multiple women suffering miscarriages.
"I personally knew two people who suffered pregnancy losses —miscarriages — during the detention process. They weren't given medication. The stress, the agony, and the lack of medical resources obviously caused the losses."
Rodriguez was transferred to the Broward Transitional Center, an ICE-run facility in Pompano Beach. She said conditions at that facility were better, but she described instances of delayed medical treatment.
"There's a lot of people that have pain and they needed medical assistance, and they had to wait at least 24 hours," she said.
Despite her release, Rodriguez is worried she may be detained again.
"I do not feel safe. I do not feel safe because I have also heard stories that people have gotten out and are taken back again by not doing anything," she said. "I'm not scared because I know I have not done anything wrong, and I know I have the right to fight for my rights."
Wasserman Schultz said Rodriguez is one of hundreds of immigrants "going through this same horror."
“I’m so grateful and relieved that Claudia is with her family again. I was proud to help put a spotlight on her case, but there are 300,000 Florida families who had TPS ripped away just like Claudia, and they are just as vulnerable to the kind of cruel arrest and detention that she and her family just went through,” said Wasserman Schultz.
“She’s clearly no threat to our community. And the atrocious pain and uncertainty that she and her family were put through, and all the immense, wasteful expense it costs taxpayers, are just appalling," Wasserman Schultz said. "There are still too many Claudias going through this same horror.”
Claudia Rodriguez, 28, was released from ICE detention in Broward County on Monday afternoon, according to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who had lobbied for her release.
“Today, my heart is also with the many people in detention without the same support and visibility, and also the opportunity to have shared their stories and also be heard,” Rodriguez, said at a press conference Tuesday. “I hope this moment also shines a light on them, because this journey is just the beginning.”
READ MORE: Family, friends, congresswoman call for release of St. Thomas soccer captain from ICE custody
Rodriguez spoke to media Tuesday morning, wearing what looked to be an ankle monitor on her right foot.
Rodriguez lawfully moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2017 on a tourist visa, and within six months applied for asylum. She received Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, in 2023, and her asylum case is pending.
She was arrested last month by ICE agents at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. She was about to board a flight to North Carolina to visit friends and watch the World Cup Final with them.
Rodriguez was first sent to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office in Miramar. Despite ICE officials telling Wasserman Schultz that no detainee was kept at that facility for longer than 72 hours, Rodriguez was there for 8 days. She said conditions there made her feel "like I was an animal in a zoo."
"The floor was dirty, I think they only cleaned the room like twice, and they didn't clean the toilets. Every time we ask for water, they say 'go drink water in the sink.' Everyone was sleeping on the floor, I wasn't able to change clothes, no showers, no proper heating, toothbrush, and everything was in bad quality," she said.
"I felt dehumanized. All they did was give us food — sometimes it was expired; sometimes we’d open it and find mold," she added, in Spanish.
Friends and family of Claudia Carolina Rodriguez Caglianone wave signs outside of the Broward Transitional Center, a for-profit detention facility funded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Pompano Beach. (4032x3024, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
At the Miramar facility, Rodriguez said that 47 women were confined to one small cell and that many, including Rodriguez, were forced to sleep on the floor. Rodriguez also said that women were denied medical care.
"There were people that had cancer, and they did the first chemo[therapy] before getting in, and they were not allowed to get the second chemo, and that's just one of many people that have other disease that aren't being able to keep their health," she said.
In Spanish, Rodriguez said these conditions led to multiple women suffering miscarriages.
"I personally knew two people who suffered pregnancy losses —miscarriages — during the detention process. They weren't given medication. The stress, the agony, and the lack of medical resources obviously caused the losses."
Rodriguez was transferred to the Broward Transitional Center, an ICE-run facility in Pompano Beach. She said conditions at that facility were better, but she described instances of delayed medical treatment.
"There's a lot of people that have pain and they needed medical assistance, and they had to wait at least 24 hours," she said.
Despite her release, Rodriguez is worried she may be detained again.
"I do not feel safe. I do not feel safe because I have also heard stories that people have gotten out and are taken back again by not doing anything," she said. "I'm not scared because I know I have not done anything wrong, and I know I have the right to fight for my rights."
Wasserman Schultz said Rodriguez is one of hundreds of immigrants "going through this same horror."
“I’m so grateful and relieved that Claudia is with her family again. I was proud to help put a spotlight on her case, but there are 300,000 Florida families who had TPS ripped away just like Claudia, and they are just as vulnerable to the kind of cruel arrest and detention that she and her family just went through,” said Wasserman Schultz.
“She’s clearly no threat to our community. And the atrocious pain and uncertainty that she and her family were put through, and all the immense, wasteful expense it costs taxpayers, are just appalling," Wasserman Schultz said. "There are still too many Claudias going through this same horror.”